Big Hero 7: Everything's Alright
by Yin14
Summary: Every time she is faced with a problem, instinct tells her to run away from it. Usually the problem is something she isn't confident enough to cope with. So, when Mari finds herself in the middle of multiple problems, including one that always lingers in her thoughts; one she can't get rid of, she learns to face them with a brave heart. Rated T.
1. Introduction (read it)

Hi everyone!

Welcome to my first ever fanfiction! (But don't worry, I'm great at writing, well, I think, so you can breathe again. With me. Deep breaths. In, one, two, out, one, two...)

Please don't post hurtful comments or take my story as your own, it's not nice (and if you don't listen to me I promise you that I will hunt you down, kill you, and make Christmas decorations out of your veins. Just kidding. But you never know, I AM very unpredictable...)

The story is set five months after the movie.

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Big Hero 6 or its characters, only my OC's. If my OC's happen to resemble anybody, it is merely by coincidence.**

Story also contains some spoilers.

* * *

 ** _Introduction to Mari:_**

The story is set around Mari Nakata (Mari is the Japanese form of English Mary (which just so happens to be my middle name AND the Japanese form suits me yay!), and means 'rebellious', or 'their rebelliousness').

She is the only other fourteen year old prodigy enrolled in SFIT (besides Hiro, obviously), and is REALLY shy, mainly because everyone ignores and/or bullies her because of her excellent smarts and logical thinking from her past life. So she ended up becoming reserved. Mari attends college classes, when she's not, she's in her private lab, working on whatever astounding creation she liked.

Physical Appearance: Mari is Japanese-American (I can do whatever I like, haha!), and therefore sports night-black silky locks of shoulder length hair, fair skin, a little gap in her front teeth, and chocolate brown eyes.

 **The prologue will be published shortly. Stay tuned!**


	2. Prologue

One Month Before Story...

-3rd Person P.O.V-

"Wasabi and Fred, catch up with the robber closest to our current position. Gogo, Honey Lemon, chase after the second farthest. Baymax and I will aim for the farthest robber. Hurry, before they get away!" Hiro Hamada instructed his fellow teammates. "On it." Gogo replied, while everybody else gave a quick nod to show they understood, and sped off to capture their designated criminal.

"Baymax, fly after that robber!" Hiro exclaimed, pointing a finger at the man he was talking about. "Very well." replied Baymax.

* * *

After two minutes of chasing, through the implanted headset in his helmet, Wasabi, Fred, Gogo and Honey Lemon at the same time told Hiro that they had successfully captured the criminal they were sent after, confiscated anything dangerous or valuable, and were currently taking them to the San Fransokyo Police Station. Hiro answered, "Great job guys." and resumed to the chase.

When they had almost caught up with the robber, as if on cue, a black car sped up, the man jumped in, and the car sped away at possibly its fastest speed. "Hiro," Baymax said monotonously, "I am sorry for the sudden inconvenience, but my battery is draaaaaaaiiiiiiniiing," Hiro let out a frustrated groan, "Not NOW!" he half screamed, half irritatedly spoke.

* * *

Fortunately for him, an orange and grey clad superhero flew past the now grounded Baymax and Hiro towards the runaway car. The superhero, who looked female, turned around in front of the car, and blasted against it at a rapid speed, crushing the front of the car on impact.

With the car battery busted, the robber and another man fled from the car, trying to get away. The new superheroine, however, had other plans. She took out two pairs of handcuffs from a storage compartment in the side of her suit and shot toward the men. She handcuffed them, and made them sit on the sidewalk, while waiting for Big Hero 6.

Hiro pulled Baymax after him to where the criminals were. He took hold of both criminals by the handcuffs, and took a glance at the superheroine.

* * *

The mystery girl wore orange and grey clad armor on her forearms, core body, and legs. She was wearing a black skintight suit underneath, similar to Hiro's, but hers seemed to be just a little thicker. She sported an orange helmet with a grey streak and tinted visor, so Hiro couldn't see her face.

"Who are you?" he asked. There was a slight hesitation, before she replied, "Yin." And with that, she took off into the night sky before Hiro could ask her anything else.

* * *

Hiro asked his fellow team members to help him with the criminals and Baymax, to which they gladly did.

After dropping them off to the police station, Big Hero 6 retired to the cafe (after changing into normal clothing to make sure Aunt Cass or anyone else doesn't find out).

Everyone settled down into their usual booth and told their side of the evening's chase. Everyone said that it was fairly easy to catch their wanted criminal. But after Hiro told his, Wasabi asked him the question everyone wanted to know, "Who was that girl?"

Hiro answered, "She said that her name was Yin, but I'm pretty sure that's just a superhero alias. Apart from that, I honestly have no idea."

* * *

 **A/N: I got the alias 'Yin' from Y/N (and I know it means Your Name). When I was reading others' fanfictions, I thought it was easier for me to think of it as that rather than putting in my real name, because it felt, well, awkward. So that answers that question everybody's probably wondering about. Stay tuned for Chapter 1!**


	3. Chapter 1

-Mari's P.O.V.-

San Fransokyo looked more magnificent at night than at day. The neon lighting boasted a homely, happy, Asian themed culture. The number of tall skyscrapers just showed how big the city really was.

However, I was forced by Ayako to attend ANOTHER street alley party. I didn't like these parties. I never did. I hated dressing up in the special black and white Fujita kimono and painting my face, even though I did it every day. There was always at least twenty people drunk at the party. Unfortunately for me, three of them happened to be Sakura, Yama and Ayako. I never drink, I know what alcohol did to people, I saw it with my own eyes. I didn't want to be following in their footsteps.

* * *

Sakura and I got a tad bored after a while, and started to play a game of truth or dare. "Truth or Dare, Sakura?" I asked her.

"Truth." She responded.

"What is the secret ingredient in your street stir fry?" I replied, asking her something odd, yet something she would never tell anyone.

"Sweet potatoes." she stated. _Wait,_ I thought, _she puts sweet potatoes in her stir fry? Well, it tastes nice, so I can't judge._

"Okay, my turn. Dare or dare, Mari?" Sakura mischievously whispered. I sighed. This was going to be a really rough dare.

"Dare." I said, fearing the worst.

"Yes! I dare you to go up to Ayoko and Yama over there, poke them both, then slap their faces, punch them in the guts, and knock their heads together. Hard."

 _Oh man._ I knew she was drunk. But I hated them both, and so I did as I was told. I walked up to them, poked them, which made them look at me, then slapped their faces, punched them in the guts, and knocked their heads together the hardest I could before running to the end of the alley.

"Mari! Come here!" That was Ayako.

"You can't make me. I don't have to if I don't wanna. Besides, we both know I'm stronger than you." said my slightly cocky and sassy self. But it was true. I was stronger than her. She never bothered to train with Sakura and I. However I soon regretted saying it because of what happened next.

"MARI HANA NAKATA! I'VE HAD IT WITH YOUR STUPID PRANKS! YOU ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTABLE AS A FUJITA! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!" Ayako screeched at the top of her lungs. My eyes grew huge as I saw her slowly draw out her dagger...

 _Oh man. Run Mari, run!_

I heard her. I am no longer a Fujita. I no longer have to listen to her. Best. Night. Ever. Well, not really. She did want to kill me now. I grabbed my heavy, shoulder bag (not a messenger bag), and ran faster than I ever thought I could run, but Yama and Ayako were hot on my heels.

* * *

After running past three blocks, I slowly realised I was starting to tire. I needed somewhere to hide, and fast.

I turned a corner, and another, and pushed my way past a glass door into a building. I didn't care what I was doing, even if that meant trespassing. A bell jingled. I was now inside a...cafe? The room was dark though, indicating that the cafe was closed. I was confused as to why the door was still open. For the owners and my sake, I locked it. I heaved a large sigh, rested my back against the nearest wall, and slumped down until I reached the ground.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a plump calico cat look at me with the cutest eyes I had ever seen. It hesitated, gave out a small meowrr, and scampered toward me. It cuddled up on my lap, and in return, I petted it, making the sweet little thing purr. I always had a soft spot for cats. Thanks to Ayako, the last time I was able to pet one was when I was eight...

I was snapped out of my thoughts by loud shouting coming from outside the cafe. I peeked outside, through the glass door. Yama and Ayako looked around cluelessly, but since they didn't know where I had gone, it looked like they decided to give up the chase. "The brat would probably get herself killed, anyway." I heard Ayako state right before they left. _That wasn't true,_ I mentally reasoned, _I can definitely take care of myself._

I looked down at the cat. The cat looked up at me. I noticed a black collar around its neck. I inspected the little tag, revealing that the cat's name was Mochi. "Hello, Mochi." I exclaimed, before chuckling. Mochi responded with a mrrrowrr, and hopped off my lap, hiding behind a pair of legs.

My eyes widened. _Wait, what? LEGS? What is going on?_ I questioned myself, to which the answer was a simple _'I don't know.'_

I slowly looked up, to find a boy, who looked about my age. He had messy raven black hair, fair skin, and his mouth was partially open, revealing a gap in his teeth, something I had too. He was looking as me as if he was thinking, which he was. He seemed familiar...

"A Fujita." He concluded, spitting the words out like dirt. _A misunderstanding. Great first impression, Mari._

"Okay, okay, it's not what it looks like!" I exclaimed, trying awkwardly to get up, but couldn't; he was in the way. So I sat back down.

"Oh yeah? Explain to me why you're here, in my aunt's cafe, after hours, wearing a black and white kimono and matching makeup. The cosplay festival is in half a years time, you know." He said with a hint of sarcasm.

 _Harsh._ "Who do you think YOU are, going around offending every innocent person you see?"

"Well, I'll be nice and answer your question first." The blood rushed to my face in irritation. "My name is Hiro Hamada, and I don't go around offending other people, it's just because you..." But I wasn't paying attention. Something in the back of my mind just clicked. All at once, the extra blood drained away from my face, and a cold chill ran down my spine.

"H-Hiro? Is that really you?"

* * *

Hiro seemed confused. "Excuse me?"

"I-I-I'm s-s-sorry. M-My name is M-Mari Nak-kata. D-D you r-remember m-me?" _Stupid stuttering._

Hiro copied exactly the same actions I did a few seconds ago. "M-Mari? This is YOU?"

 _Commence awkward situation now._ "Uhhhhhhh... Y-Yeah."

I saw Hiro's face change from a look of shock to a look of disappointment. "So let me get this straight. You're a FUJITA?!"

I hesitated. "Well, I... You see..."

I stopped at the sound of someone rushing down the stairs. It turned out to be Aunt Cass, Hiro's aunt. "Sweetie, I'm so sorry, I forgot to lock the... HIRO, GET AWAY FROM THE FUJITA!" I shot her a skeptical look, as if saying: _Seriously? YOU TOO?!_

I inhaled slowly. "Listen, why don't we all sit down, and I will explain." Aunt Cass was hesitant for a slight moment, before agreeing. However, visualising myself as an outcast, I was definitely not expecting them to take me up to their residential apartment upstairs. Hiro gestured for me to sit on a couch, and he sat on one facing me.

A few minutes later, Aunt Cass came back with mugs of hot chocolate.

"Honestly, you shouldn't worry about me. I'm fine." I told her.

But she just sweetly said "No, honey, take it. I insist." _She is so nice,_ I thought.

So I spent the next seven minutes talking about my backstory. Aunt Cass came up and hugged me as tight as she could when I introduced myself, recognising me. Otherwise, both nephew and aunt looked straight at me, listening intently.

"Do you remember me? I used to be childhood friends with Hiro, as you probably already know. Both of Hiro's parents and mine died in a violent car crash on the way home from a night out. Hiro and I were only three, while Tadashi was seven.

I was then adopted by foster parents, who, even though they paid for my elementary, intermediate and high school fees, treated me like dirt, as if I was nothing to them. But, as you would know, I was still able to find the Lucky Cat Cafe, where both of you and Tadashi always managed to brighten up my day, along with free food (since I so happened to be Hiro's friend), and really, I thank you for that.

I was eight when contact stopped between you and I. My foster parents (if you could call them that) were drink driving and crashed into a brick building, killing them but not me, the house was sold, and I was consequently pushed out of it onto the streets **(A/N: yes, I know, excruciating saddening)**." I inhaled sharply, before continuing.

"Luckily, I managed to survive a week, and then was taken in by a certain group of villains called the Fujitas, who consist of Ayako and Sakura. I then became the youngest and shyest Fujita, and the other two associates gave me a certain nickname that I won't tell you, I personally think it's too stupid. To tell the truth, I really didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing to join, but, from my perspective, I knew that I would die on the streets. So, with no choice, I accepted the offer.

We lived in a low-budget rental apartment, so it wasn't exactly well kept. But, it's better than living out on the streets.

Sakura was a little tough with me but she had a kind heart (mind you, it was only slightly), and was the second oldest Fujita at nineteen **(A/N: just go with me here)**. She was the one who taught me a great deal of martial arts, which I later improvised, and became a professional," I grinned while saying this, "street cooking, and a bunch more activities.

Ayako was the oldest Fujita at twenty-one, and she was the one I absolutely hated. She always bossed Sakura and I around and made both of us do most of the dirty work **(A/N: not like that for you pervs out there)**. If either of us had to step out of line, she would threaten to kill, and she meant it. It happened once. Sakura managed to get away from her with large gashes on her forearm and neck.

When the I was at the early stage of fourteen, I got into SFIT via the annual student showcase. By enrolling in this fashion, I didn't have to pay any college fees, fortunately, which meant that being accepted into SFIT this way was a very rare occasion. I'm sure you'll be familiar with that, I heard that Hiro got accepted the same way.

And now, I'm due to be fifteen in three month's time."

I finally finished. I had my head down, looking at the ground, not wanting to make any eye contact. I didn't notice this, but their looks of interest quickly changed to looks of sympathy. Aunt Cass came up and hugged me, followed by Hiro. A silent tear rolled down my cheek. I haven't had this much kindness, in, well, eternity.

Just before they separated the hug, I quickly wiped off the tear, to make it look like I wasn't crying. I gave the both of them a grateful smile, before diminishing back to my former state.

Hiro and Aunt Cass moved to a corner of the living room to talk over something for a few minutes. I managed to catch a few words, like 'safe', 'fine' and 'thanks'.

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Sweetie, do you want us to take you in, adopt you, maybe?" said the voice of Aunt Cass.

My head shot up. "No no no no no, please, it's ok. I wouldn't like to impose..."

"But you won't be imposing on us. We'd love to have you here."

I looked at Aunt Cass, who was smiling her sweetest smile, then at Hiro, who was giving me a pleading look.

 **A/N: Oooh... Cliffhanger. Hey, have any of you readers ever thought when someone says 'cliffhanger', you sometimes (if not all the time) picture someone holding on for dear life onto the edge of a cliff? Okay, okay, I'm weird. Sheesh.**

 **By the way, I will be updating every Saturday, just if you want to know.**

 **Stay awesome, peeps!**


	4. Chapter 2

-Mari's P.O.V.-

 _Well, I don't want to disappoint anybody... And I didn't really have elsewhere to go..._

"Well, then I'm gonna just say that I'll be happy for you to adopt me Aunt Cass." I said with a huge gap-toothed grin on my face. Hiro fist pumped the air while Aunt Cass clapped her hands excitedly.

She took a glance at Hiro, before saying, "Hiro, I believe you still have some homework to do?" Hiro groaned, but nodded anyway, and clambered upstairs.

During that time, Aunt Cass managed to tell me everything she knew about herself and her nephew's backstory. She explained that Tadashi died around a year ago **(A/N: SPOILER ALERT! Told ya.)** , and Hiro can be sensitive when the subject is brought up. My face showed a look of sympathy. I never knew what it was like to have siblings. She also told me about Hiro making friends with some students Tadashi knew very well, who were at SFIT, which made me smile.

"So, where are you saying I sleep?" I asked Aunt Cass, after she explained everything.

"You can sleep in Tadashi's old bed."

I looked at her with shocked eyes. "Is Hiro okay with this?!" I half stated, half yelled.

"Yeah. He's gotten over it for the most part. Don't worry, he'll be fine." Aunt Cass calmly reassured me.

* * *

At that moment, Hiro rushed downstairs, indicating that he had finished his homework. "You had anything to eat yet, Mari?" Aunt Cass questioned.

"Uhhhhhhhhhh... Yes. I did actually." I lied.

"Well, then you can go and get ready for bed. You do have college tomorrow sweetie." Couldn't argue with that.

Aunt Cass gave me a pile of (simple) nightwear, and a few other pieces of clothing, including a denim hoodie. I took the clothes into the private bathroom in Hiro's room to change and remove my makeup. I came out wearing a green tank top with black shorts. I got my shoulder bag from downstairs and set it down in my side of the room, just behind the divider. I opened it and took out a framed picture of two families together, Hiro's and mine. I saw Mom and Dad, Mr and Mrs Hamada, seven year old Tadashi, and two three years olds, who were Hiro and I. I chuckled with a hint of sadness, and set it on a little wooden shelf.

I heard the sound of someone climbing up the steps, before the divider was drawn back.

"Hey Mari." Hiro spoke. I looked up at him then back down, not knowing exactly how to react. That's pretty much what you get for little to no social interaction.

"Wait, is that what I think it is?" I heard Hiro exclaim. I let him take the picture off the shelf and inspect it. After a few seconds, he chuckled and handed it back to me, and I put it back on the shelf. After that, Hiro walked over to his side of the room.

A few minutes later, I was in bed when I heard a faint, "Goodnight Mari." A moment after, I heard a click and the lights went out.

* * *

I couldn't sleep. I had a throbbing headache. I was getting hallucinations every two minutes. They were of Yama and Ayako, threatening, You can't hide from me. You know I'm out to get you or something similar. I was constantly shivering, even though the bed was warm and welcoming. I was also feeling very dehydrated, and craved water.

I finally persuaded myself to get up and exit the bed. I pulled back the divider, and tiptoed past Hiro's bed. Unfortunately, there was another hallucination of Ayako, laughing maniacally, which made me take a step backwards...

Only to tread on something so sharp it poked through the skin of my foot. I let out a faint yelp, lost my balance (which pulled the mystery object through more skin, worsening the prick into a harsh scratch), and fell over, smashing my head on the wall behind me in the process.

"Uurrrgh!" I exclaimed, nursing the sole of my foot. Add that to my list of failures. I could only hope and pray that I didn't wake Hiro...

But, of course, life is unfair for me. You want something so bad, you don't get it, you don't want something, that's what you get. And in this situation, my prayer was left unanswered and Hiro was awoken.

"MARI? ARE YOU OKAY?" I heard Hiro's voice shout out to me from the darkness. I saw him rush up to the divider and push it to the side.

Probably realising I wasn't there, he let out another "MARI?" and raced over near where I was. He turned around and saw my thin figure amongst the dark. Hiro turned on the lights, to find me doubled over, applying pressure to my foot.

He must've seen a drop of blood or two, because he exclaimed, "MARI, YOU'RE BLEEDING!"

* * *

Whilst all this was going on, I heard the sound of something inflating. When Hiro turned on the lights, after a few seconds, I rested my eyes on... a giant walking marshmallow?!

The marshmallow, with little squeaks of its vinyl skin, I'm guessing, calmly walked over and greeted me. "Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. I was alerted to the need for medical assistance when you let out a cry of distress." _Ah, Baymax. Aunt Cass told me about a robot Tadashi created named Baymax. This must be it..._ "What is the matter?"

I looked at the robot before replying, "Well, I happened to tread on a..." I noticed a sharp upturned nail coated with blood a few metres away from me. "Nail." I concluded.

Baymax continued with his medical exam, "On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?" he said monotonously, while emoji faces appeared on his chest.

"Zero Baymax. I'm fine, honestly." I tried to persuade him to stop helping me.

"I do not believe you, judging by your tone of voice. I will now scan you." Well, that didn't work. "You have sustained a pierced foot. I suggest a tissue and bandaid."

* * *

I didn't protest as Baymax wiped the dripping blood off my hands and foot and stuck on a plaster.

"I have also picked up extremely low neurotransmitter levels and a slightly lower blood pressure. Most people with these kind of bodily behaviours tend to suffer from a serious case of clinical dep-"

 _Crap_. My cheeks paled. I knew exactly where this was heading. Before the plushy robot could say any more, I managed to cut him off. "OKAAY! THAT'S ENOUGH BAYMAX!"

Hiro stared at me quizzically.

"I cannot deactivate until you say, 'you are satisfied with your care.' "

"Okay then. Baymax, I am satisfied with my care." And with that, Baymax waddled back to his charging station. I heaved a sigh of relief and laid back against the green wall.

* * *

Although, life didn't get any better. I felt two fingers under my chin, then had my head gently, but forcefully turned by Hiro ninety degrees to look at his concerned face. "Mari, what was Baymax going to say?" There was an awkward silence as I looked into his warm, chocolate brown eyes. I was lost for around four seconds, before finding my voice again.

"Da-uh-he was- You know what? It's waaaaay too early for us to be up right now!" I said, putting on the best smile I could muster at that moment, which happened to be a smile anyone could tell was fake. "We should go to sleep! Goodnight Hiro!" I saw him furrow his eyebrows for a split second, but he seemed to let it slide.

"Goodnight Mari." he said, slowly, before turning off the lights.

* * *

-Hiro's P.O.V. (You're welcome)-

I lay awake in bed. How Mari acted just before was definitely out of her character. Something was up. I just knew it. _I'll confront her about it tomorrow. Maybe she'll feel comfortable talking about it then._ With that in mind, I slowly drifted off to sleep with a smile.

-Mari's P.O.V (I know, I know...)-

I woke up the next morning, and at once, I felt at peace. Although, the events of last night flooded back into my mind, and I shot up and out of bed. I pushed the divider aside.

 _I had college today. And..._ I looked at Hiro lying sprawled across his bed, lying on his chest. _So does Hiro._ I glanced at the clock. _Thirty more minutes till nine! We're going to be late!_

I hurriedly got myself ready in five minutes, a personal best. I exited the small private bathroom wearing a sea blue shirt, denim shorts, and my favourite denim hoodie, then walked over to Hiro's bed.

 _Shame to wake up such an innocent person._ I lightly shook him by the shoulders. "Hiro." He didn't budge. I shook him harder. "Hiro... Earth to Hiro."

He groaned. "One more hour, Aunt Cass." _Hour? I haven't got time for this_ , I thought.

* * *

I smacked him on the back. "HIRO!" And just like that, Hiro fell out of his bed with a low-pitched scream. He looked up at me confused, while I looked at him with a frustrated look, which quickly changed to a smirk. "Guess I now know how to wake you up each day, don't I?" I said, chuckling.

"Please, never do that again." was his response. I sighed.

"Whatever, Sleeping Beauty. You've only got twenty-five minutes to arrive at SFIT." I said, slowly turning away.

His head perked up sharply. "Wait... WHAT?!" He got up, knocked ME over, muttered a quick 'sorry', and raced to the bathroom to get ready. I chuckled lightly. _He's a dork,_ I thought as I looked at the closed bathroom door.

* * *

I picked myself up off the ground and headed downstairs, where Aunt Cass had left out two slices of toast. I had half-finished mine when Hiro swept down like a tornado and snatched his toast right off the plate. I then followed him, rushing straight out the cafe door, and I swear I heard Aunt Cass say, "College kids..." as the door closed.

Both of us entered SFIT just as the bell rang, and we both heaved a sigh of relief, while wiping away a few sweat beads.

* * *

 **A/N: Ooooh, what's wrong with Mari? Okay, if you have any idea what it is, please keep to yourself to avoid any spoilers. Thank you.**

 **Also, the quote I put above? You know: 'But, of course, life is unfair for me. You want something so bad, you don't get it, you don't want something, that's what you get?' Yeah. I dibs that as my quote. Thank you. All rights reserved (^-^)．**

 **This chapter was posted early to say sorry for editing the chapters... Hope you guys can forgive me.**

 **Well, that's the end of that. Now to do the more important things in life...**

 **Just kidding. Gotcha, didn't I?**


	5. Chapter 3

-Mari's P.O.V. (wait for it...)-

At lunch break, Hiro took me into one of the shared labs, to introduce me to his friends. I really didn't want to go with him, because of how college students used to treat me in the past. But they didn't turn out as I expected. They were actually... pretty great.

I stopped at a desk overflowing with sketches, prototypes, and blueprints. I peered closer, but was then startled by a "Hey!"

I turned around to face a woman, possibly around eighteen. She then saw Hiro standing next to me, and her face softened. "Did Hiro find a new acquaintance? I haven't seen you around here before."

I stayed silent. "We're actually reunited childhood friends." Hiro explained. "Her name is Mari."

The woman nodded. "Gogo. You visiting or something?"

I replied, "No. I-I study here, a-actually."

Gogo smiled. "Nice to know we have another child prodigy on campus." My face flushed at that comment.

* * *

A tall, burly African man who looked the same age as Gogo walked over to her. I closed my eyes tightly. _Please don't notice me. Please don't notice me._

"Hey Gogo, could I please borrow... hello. Who's this?" _He noticed me._ Gogo spoke up for me, thankfully.

"Wasabi, this is Mari, another child prodigy studying here." The man then got mad at Gogo over the name 'Wasabi'.

"Come on! I spilt wasabi on my shirt one time!" He then realised he was raging in front of someone he didn't know, which usually earns people bad first impressions. "Sorry about that, nice meeting you, Mari." He then turned back to Gogo, asking if he could borrow a spare wrench.

* * *

We walked away from them, over to two people, a blonde man and woman, their backs facing us. The woman seemed to be irritated by the man, who was saying something about an 'invisible sandwich being possible science'. Hi Fred, Honey Lemon." Hiro said casually. They turned towards us.

"Hey Hiro..." greeted the woman.

But then the woman, or Honey Lemon, saw me. She shrieked so loud I thought that for a moment, she was having a heart attack. "OMIGOSH OMIGOSH OMIGOSH! HIRO'S GOT A GIRLFRIEND!"

At once, both our faces turned white in shock. "WHAT?!" we both shouted. There were 'oooohs' coming from everywhere in the room, which made our cheeks flush red in embarrassment. "Honey Lemon, we're nothing more than childhood friends." The man, who I think was Fred, smirked. "Suuuuuure, Hiro."

Seeing the red blush on Hiro's face, I decided to change the topic. "Gogo? Wasabi?Honey Lemon?" Fred spoke up. "I've made up nicknames for everyone who's friends with me, except for Hiro. I haven't decided on a nickname for him yet..."

I cut him short. "Actually, I think that Hiro is a good enough name for him."

* * *

-Hiro's P.O.V. (You waited. Good. :D)-

"Actually, I think that Hiro is a good enough name for him." I looked over at her. She gave me a warm smile. _She's so... wow..._

I decided I had to yank myself away from the situation quickly before anyone started to worry.

"Mari, you wanna see my lab?" I questioned.

"Sure, okay." she replied.

* * *

I opened the door, and gave her a quick tour, she lightly laughing at my old bot fighting robot, Megabot.

"So, Chemistry, Applied Physics, Industrial Design/Mechanical Engineering, heck, even School Mascot. But seriously no Robotics?"

"Well actually, that happens to be my major, if you need anything."

"Hiro, that's my major as well. I don't think I need any help."

My eyes lit up. "Then we are going to get along just fine."

"Well, Robotics is my major, but I've taken a little interest in electromagnetism." Mari stated. I looked over at her, impressed.

The clock in my lab struck two-fifteen, which meant that Mari had to attend two more classes right now. We said our goodbyes and she left hurriedly.

* * *

-Mari's P.O.V.-

College finished at four o'clock. Hiro said that the gang wanted to meet up at Fred's house, explaining that they wanted to get to know me better.

Everybody clambered into Wasabi's new car (the old one apparently got severely damaged), and we drove off. It was a bit cramped; Honey Lemon was squished next to me, but I didn't mind.

It was a silent drive; I stared out of the window most of the time. What can I say? I'm a manipulative daydreamer.

Once we were inside Fred's bedroom, questions rattled off about what game to play. Everyone settled on truth or dare. I was fine with it, as long as nothing happens like the previous time I played this game.

* * *

It was Fred's turn first. "Gogo, truth or dare?"

She replied, "Dare."

Fred smirked. "Okay. I dare you to let Honey Lemon dress up you in pink. Right now.

Gogo glared at him. "Fine." she muttered, and went to get dressed. Her face scrunched up when everyone laughed when they saw she was wearing the most girliest dress Honey Lemon had bought.

Next, it was Gogo's turn, "Wasabi, truth or dare?" Wasabi found this a hard decision to make, but chose dare.

"Wasabi, I dare you to stick your hand in the garbage bin." Everybody laughed hysterically at Wasabi's facial expression.

"Glad that's over." Wasabi said as he rubbed sanitiser on his hands.

After that, it was Wasabi's turn. "Honey Lemon, truth or dare?" Wasabi asked Honey.

Honey Lemon answered, "Dare." _Why is everyone choosing dare?_ I thought.

"I dare you to race around the room thirteen times." Honey scoffed. "That's simple Wasabi!"

Following that, it was Honey Lemon's turn. "Hiro, truth or truth?" she asked with a straight face. But even then, I knew this wasn't going to end well.

"Truth." He stated.

"Good." _Honey Lemon was definitely cooking up some freaky plan._ "Tell me, Hiro, why weren't you present at our group meeting yesterday? Did your aunt need you again? Was it school?  Or was it a girlfriend?" Honey said while smirking. _Told ya she was cooking up some freaky plan. And now here was Hiro, lost for words._ His face was red as he spoke.

"W-WHAT? NO! Honey, that wasn't the reason." But Honey didn't seem to believe him.

"All right Hiro... if you say so..."

I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Come on everyone! Let's just go and play video games or something." I turned to leave. But, a hand grabbed my shoulder.

* * *

"Wait." I turned around to see that Hiro was holding me back.

"What?" I questioned him.

"You haven't been asked yet." _Oh. Okay._

"Go ahead." And so my turn commenced.

"Okay. Truth or truth, Mari?" _Please tell me he wasn't doing this._

"Uh.. Truth?"

He gave me a smirk. "Now you answer truthfully, Nakata. You love someone, don't ya?" _Oh, he was doing this all right._ Everyone leaned in with smirks on their faces. They came in close. Too close. This was only making me all the more nervous.

"N-no I don't." _Why, oh why did I have to studder?_

"You studdered." Honey Lemon stated bluntly.

"Come on, tell us..." I didn't understand it. Hiro never acted this way.

"I already told you, I don't like anyone."

"Oh? Then tell me, why are you blushing?" I was only blushing because of the awkward situation, NOT because I liked anyone. Or it may be because my temper might be rising...

My fists clenched. "Listen to me. I. DO. NOT. LOVE. ANYBODY." This was an extremely touchy subject, and I didn't want to talk about it. And these teens know it.

"You're saying that you never loved anybody? So the poor little girl never even loved her own parents?"

That was it. I stood up, clasped my hand around Hiro's neck, and elevated him off the ground. I shot him a tight-lipped death glare (not my best though).

"Hamada, you are going to stop interrogating me as far as including my parents at least, or so help me, you are going to be strangled to death, here and now. DO YOU UNDERSTAND!" I screamed, raising my voice. The word 'understand' rang through the entire room, bouncing of the walls and cupboards.

* * *

"But I didn't say that." was all he said. _The nerve._ I turned to look at the others' faces, and they were nodding. They were right. The voice sounded female, like Ayako's...

I loosened my grip on Hiro, who quickly apologised. I forgave him, and checked my phone for the time. However, I realised that Ayako was currently trying to call me, but the ringtone was muted, so I didn't really hear it. _Oh man, I'm in for it now._

"Um.. guys? Could you please excuse me for a moment?"

Everyone either answered, "Yeah okay." or "Sure."

After slowly closing the door to Fred's room, I felt like someone was watching me, but I shook the thought off. I took one look at my phone, then took off down the dark corridor. I only stopped when I was at the other end of the hall. I accepted the call. "H-Hey Ayoko..."

But I didn't really expect this...

* * *

 **A/N: Major cliffhanger. I am brutal to you guys, aren't I :D?**

 **Also, if you're thinking what I'm thinking, it's gonna happen (AGAIN, NO YOU PERVS!). Apologies for not having a good enough ending.**

 **And, thank you to meitaap for reviewing my fanfiction. I'm glad you liked it so far (^-^)**

 **For everyone else, please review (if you can), and tell me if you have some advice for the following chapters. Thank you.**


	6. Chapter 4

-Mari's P.O.V. (troll face, haha!)-

"Hello there, Mari. Why don't you turn around?" The sleazy voice of Ayoko seemed to glitch on forever, almost like she was right behind me, making both our phones echo like mirrors side by side... _Wait. IS SHE?_

I turned around, and sure enough, there she was. Well, this was sort of normal. She breaks into at least two houses a week. Ayoko let out a maniacal laugh, which, unfortunately for me, alerted the others to exit Fred's bedroom to see what was going on.

As soon as they were able to process the fact that there was a Fujita standing before me, their eyes widened in shock.

Hiro was the first to react. "Mari!" he exclaimed, running over to my position. He made a move to try and protect me, but I prevented him.

"Stay back." I warned him.

* * *

Then I turned my head to look at Ayoko. "Sooo," I started off, "Is this going to be a fast death, or a slow one? I don't want my time wasted." Ayoko looked puzzled, while everyone else's eyes widened even more (if that was possible).

"What kind of a question is that?" she asked me.

"The right question." I answered, like a typical smart aleck. I know she hated it when I acted like this. She hoisted me up by the neck.

"Listen kid. I'm not in the mood for any dimwit business, so quit being stupid."

I managed to whisper out a hoarse "Okay." and she then put me down.

"Alright, now let's..." she started while searching for her dagger. Suddenly, she realised her dagger was no longer on her person. "WHAT? WHERE THE HELL IS MY DAGGER?!" she screeched.

I smirked and held up her dagger in front of her face. I managed to steal it when she was holding me by my neck. "It's called a diiiveeersssiiiion." I said very slowly, splitting 'diversion' into syllables to make her look stupid. Then I started to run.

"Ooooooh, when I get you Mari, you are DEAD MEAT!"

* * *

I laughed hard for the first time in a long time. I was still laughing when I bolted out the tall door of Fred's mansion, Ayoko chasing after me, and my friends following behind her.

I crossed streets, whipped around sharp corners, subconsciously dropping the dagger, and found myself sprinting into a dark alley. I didn't really notice what was going on until my gaze met a brick dead end.

 _Big mistake._

I felt a body press against me. My neck felt something sharp; the blade of a dagger. I felt it shakily start to put pressure on my skin, trying to cut through...

I pushed back against the figure, obviously Ayoko, behind me, knocking her over, and I consequently received the slightest scar on my neck. She gave out a low growl as I sprinted, yet again, pushing past the others who were peering into the alley.

As I was running, I heard a frustrated groan, which made me look back. I saw Ayoko walking away in the opposite direction. She looked over to me with a death glare, and mouthed the words, "I'll get you, just watch me." before taking off down the street.

I heaved a sigh of relief, and started back toward my new home. But in only a matter of seconds, I heard hurried footsteps, then felt a body tackle me around my waist in a hug, sending us both to the ground. _What the..._

I let out a faint yelp as I felt my cheek and knee scrape on the concrete. I tried to give an irritated look to the culprit, but found I was pretty much pinned to the ground, and couldn't move myself to see directly behind me.

I turned to face my friends, and quickly realised that Hiro wasn't standing amongst them. _Must be the one hugging me. Huh._ I sighed, but let him anyways.

I was sure Hiro didn't release me from the death hug until around two minutes later, and that was due to Gogo poking and prodding him. Fifteen times.

Once he loosened his grip a tiny bit, I sharply rolled onto my back, my calm face turned back to its previous irritated glare. I clutched my now bleeding knee. "WHAT GIVES, HIRO?!"

"I...uh...I..."

"You were worried, weren't you?" I said as my face softened. "You shouldn't be. I'll be fine."

Hiro opened his mouth to protest. "But she..."

Wasabi cut him off, "Guys, from what just happened, I seriously think that I should be heading home."

"Yeah." Honey Lemon, Gogo and Fred agreed at once. Hiro and I looked at each other for a few seconds.

"Come on. Let's go home." I stated, and we all parted.

* * *

-Hiro's P.O.V.-

Mari and I wandered upstairs, after a good meal from a slightly worried Aunt Cass. For me, that is. Our dinner was lasagne, and Mari took an extremely small portion out of the dish. _Guess she never got anything much to eat..._

I flopped down on my bed, and Mari did the same. After a few minutes of thinking over the events of the day, I thought back to what happened last night. _The slight presence of fear in Mari's eyes... Her weird uncharacteristic actions..._

I got up from my bed and quietly walked over to the other side of the room. My weight made a few floorboards creak, which seemed to alert Mari, who sat up and looked at me. I gulped nervously.

"Hey." I said.

"Hey." she replied.

I cautiously walked over to her bedside. I think she noticed my fearful face, because she turned over to look at me, and questioned, "What's wrong?"

"Well...um...do you remember last night?" he inquired.

"Yeah..." She spoke slowly, but then her eyes widened.

"Well, I was kinda wondering, you were acting strangely, and so I wanted to ask you, why? Is there something..." But she cut me off.

"I don't want to talk about it." she said, turning away from me.

"Please. I can help you."

"It's nothing, Hiro."

"Really? Because 'a serious case of clinical something' doesn't seem like nothing to me."

"Baymax could just have been lying."

"Robots never lie."

Mari hesitated.

"Go away."

"But Mari..."

"MAN, CAN'T YOU JUST LEARN TO WALK AWAY FROM A PERSON WHEN THEY DON'T WANT COMPANY? JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screamed while turning sharply to face me.

I was hurt. "Okay. Goodnight Mari." I said before moving to my side of the room, and after around ten minutes, went to turn the light off.

* * *

-Mari's P.O.V.-

I lay awake in bed for the second time. I felt so guilty. I meant to be stern, but not HARSH. I felt excruciating horrible when I saw the rejected look on Hiro's face.

Hiro had (somehow) gotten to sleep, unlike me. Again, I had the familiar feeling of dehydration, and got up from my bed to get a glass of water. I managed to get downstairs without any mishap. So, good news this time, I didn't hurt myself over a floorboard nail.

I walked over to the kitchen, where I poured myself a glass of cold water from the tap. I drank all of it, the water satisfyingly pouring down my throat.

I tiptoed my way upstairs, sneaking a glance at Hiro's (apparently) sleeping form. I stifled a sob.

I literally slammed my back against the wall behind me and curled myself up in a ball when I reached the floor. Visions of the argument flashed back before my eyes. The thoughts of it raced around my brain. Questions flooded my mind. _What? How?_

 _Why?_

* * *

-Hiro's P.O.V. (okay, I promise this will be pleasant)-

I looked over at my digital clock. Red numbers read out 2:07am. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Mari's silhouette. But I shook it off; it's probably a hallucination.

However, the 'hallucination' tried its hardest to stifle a sob, which was too real for imagination. I then saw it move away toward the other side of the room. I was confused, but then I understood.

That had to be Mari.

I grew curious, and literally leapt out from my bed, over to where Mari was. I found her doubled over, her head hidden behind her legs, and her back against the wall. But she didn't seem to be crying.

Without thinking, I sped over to her, sat down by her, and enclosed her in a comforting side hug.

* * *

-Mari's P.O.V.-

All of a sudden, I felt someone hug me. Not too loose, not too tight. Just perfectly. I stiffened, then relaxed a second later. But then I realised something...

There are three people in this building. Aunt Cass, Hiro and I. Aunt Cass is sleeping, and hasn't made a sound climbing the steps. The one hugging me is way too short for someone like Aunt Cass. I can't be hugging myself. This is a separate body. So that means...

My head jolted upward. I looked over to my shoulder, where the weight of a head lay. I peered closer...

It was Hiro. Woah. Well...then, that was unexpected. Well, not really...

I decided to let him hug me. In fact, I hugged back. For all I knew, he probably didn't want to let go of me as much as I didn't want to let go of him.

A minute passed. Then four minutes. Eight minutes. Fifteen minutes. Thirty minutes.

This was odd. Nobody hugs for half an hour. Or more. I glanced to the side. He seemed to have fallen asleep on my shoulder. The corner of my mouth turned upward in a crooked smile. I picked Hiro up and carried him back to his bed.

Afterwards, I hurried back to my bed, laid a hand on it, and, putting weight on it, spun myself, making me fall onto my bed in an abnormally fun way. After a few minutes, I fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

 **A/N: Sad chapter. Welp, that's the end of the story. I ran out of inspiration, and so I will be no longer continuing it...**

 **NOT!**

 **Ha, got you there, AGAIN! I think. I think I fooled you...**

 **Probably half the people reading this already knew that was coming (because they looked ahead too soon, says my theory).**

 **Hey, I think one of my schoolmates' personality is rubbing off on me... Huh.**

 **See you in the next chapter! (yes, I was only kidding about leaving the story unfinished.)**


	7. Chapter 5

**A/N:**

 ** _'Cause I'm only human,_**

 ** _And I bleed when I fall down,_**

 ** _I'm only human,_**

 ** _And I crash and I break down._**

 ** _Your words in my head,_**

 ** _Knives in my heart,_**

 ** _You build me up and then I fall apart,_**

 ** _'Cause I'm only human._**

 **Human - Christina Perri.**

 **Christina Perri is an awesome artist and this is an awesome song, so I recommend you listen to it and/or watch the music video.**

 **Just so you know, the sensitive may get a little spooked/depressed after watching the music video a certain amount of times. You have been warned, people. AND DON'T JUMP TO CONCLUSIONS, BECAUSE I AM TOUGH!**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

-Mari's P.O.V.-

My eyes flashed open. I glanced over at my own digital clock that Aunt Cass gave me. 5:34am. _What the... It's Saturday, and I'm super tired! Why did I wake up now?_

Funnily enough, I couldn't fall back asleep. I sighed. _Typical Mari sleeping patterns. May as well get up._

I jumped out of bed, then took a shower, and came out wearing my favourite denim jacket, but with a black guitar shirt and matching leggings. I then wandered down a flight of stairs.

I had no idea what to do, so I wandered over to the living room, sat down on a couch, and watched San Fransokyo from the bay window. Hundreds of neon lights illuminated the city, and the dark living room I was in. Numerous cars flew past the house. The sun announced its presence with a very slight tinge of orange-red on the horizon. Altogether, the view was extremely comforting. I gradually began to drift away, into my personal daydreams...

* * *

When I finally stopped daydreaming, the sun was a little way above the horizon, and the neon lighting was slowly starting to turn off. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked up to see Aunt Cass.

"Morning, Sweetie." she greeted, looking down at me.

"Morning, Aunt Cass." I replied.

"You okay? You seem a little...?" she started, but I stopped her.

"No no no, I'm fine." I reassured her.

"Alright. I'll go make breakfast. What would you like?"

"Aunt Cass, it's okay. I've always made my own breakfast. I can..."

"No, you remember that you are technically now my step-niece. I signed the adoption papers yesterday. So, as your step-aunt, what would you like? Scrambled eggs and toast, or my extra special over easy?"

I chucked and gave in. "Fine, I'll have scrambled eggs, thanks."

She looked at me with her face in a teasing pout. "Why is it that when I give people those two options, they always choose scrambled?"

I realised she was playing me, and laughed lightly. "Maybe everyone just loves scrambled more than over easy eggs."

"Probably."

Aunt Cass went into the kitchen to cook up the breakfast, while I continued to stare out the window.

* * *

After a few minutes, Aunt Cass called out, "Mari, your food is ready!"

I jumped up from the couch, ran to the table, and scoffed down a heap of scrambled egg.

"Mari, don't stuff your mouth full like that! You've got all the time in the world!" Aunt Cass exclaimed with a shocked face.

"Well, I've never tasted anything so good in, I don't know, eight years, so yeah..."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah," I uttered, "I had to live on food scraps a kind baker gave me. He seemed to overlook the fact I was actually a Fujita, but what was odd, was that he would never let the others eat it. They had to find their own food."

"Maybe he saw that you were actually a good character at heart."

"Uh huh, that's it." I replied, sarcastically.

We both chuckled.

"No, I'm serious. He may have guessed that you were forced to join, which was kind of what actually happened. You never know."

"Okaaaay, if you say so..."

Everything was quiet for a few seconds, but then Aunt Cass came up with a different topic.

"Hey, have you heard about the new mystery superheroine? She's been making appearances around three months ago, and everyone's talking about her. Who she is, and stuff like that. They say she's joined Big Hero 6, or, should I say, Big Hero 7?"

"Actually..." I started, but then I trailed off.

I found my voice again instantly, though. I cleared my throat. "Uh, yeah. I keep hearing it from the gang."

"Ok." was all Aunt Cass replied.

* * *

Everything was silent for about seven minutes while we ate, and when we were finished, we both took our plates to the sink, and Aunt Cass persuaded me that she would wash the dishes.

"Honey, if you're wondering, Hiro won't be up until ten or so. And," Aunt Cass added, "I'm usually the only one awake. Do you usually wake up at this time?" she inquired.

I responded, "Sometimes I get an hour of sleep, sometimes a full twelve, but, that's my crazy sleeping habits."

"Wait, why sometimes only one hour?" Aunt Cass asked concerned.

"Uhhhh, stuff." I replied nervously.

* * *

"What stuff?" enquired another voice.

I turned around to face Hiro, who was tugging along a red case, subconsciously showing fear on my face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude..."

"It's okay. It's nothing anyway." I comforted him. But not completely.

"Right..."

"Why are you up at 7:15am on a Saturday, may I ask?" asked Aunt Cass.

"Well, um, I kinda have to meet up with the gang at Fred's house. See you later Aunt Cass!" Hiro yelled as he ran out the door.

Aunt Cass and I both raised an eyebrow.

* * *

I turned back to the couch and sat down, looking back at the diminishing street lights. Although, I was only there for five minutes, before yelling out, "I GOT IT! I FINALLY GOT IT!"

"What?" Aunt Cass questioned.

"I NEED TO GET TO SFIT! NOW!"

Before Aunt Cass could interrogate me further, I was already racing out the door, into the familiar streets on San Fransokyo.

I barged through the glass doors of Ito Ishioka, SFIT's Robotics Lab. I turned sharp corners, bumping into multiple confused students on the way, until I reached my personal lab. I pulled out a piece of paper, and set to work on a master project...

* * *

Since I knew that my new project would take a little time, and I wanted to get it finished as soon as possible, I decided to bunk in my lab at SFIT, as you can do, although I wasn't able to before because of a person named Ayako.

Aunt Cass and Hiro seemed to be a little concerned, but I managed to persuade them. Aunt Cass gave me a soft blanket, and I slept on a little three-seater couch at a corner of the lab.

* * *

Around a week after I set up in my lab, I was eating lunch on my couch when Honey Lemon burst through the lab door, screaming, "MARI, I'VE GOT SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO SHOW YOU!"

"Uhhhhhhhhhh..."

"PLEEEEEEEEEEASE?"

I sighed and gave in. "Fine."

I walked up to Honey, lunch in hand. Without warning, she grabbed me by my forearm, and pulled me along, sprinting though the wide halls.

"Honey Lemon!" I wined.

* * *

She didn't stop until we had reached the entrance of the main cafeteria. I glanced at her, puzzled, but she was looking ahead. She tugged me inside, and made me sit at a table, the same one where... the gang were seated at.

Everybody stared at me, and I stared back at them. This continued for half a minute, until I turned to Honey Lemon.

"So, what's the important thing you wanted to show me?" I asked her.

"Oh, that was nothing. Everyone just wanted to get you out of that lab. You've always been busy, and you must be stressing because of it. And, I don't mean to sound selfish, but you haven't been hanging with us lately."

"I haven't been busy!" I protested.

"You never come out of your lab, except to get meals from the cafeteria, where you should be eating, instead of your lab. It's an obvious sign that you're busy!" Wasabi theorised.

"Oh. I'm sorry guys." I said, apologising in a small voice.

"It's fine." everybody replied in sync, then laughed afterward.

* * *

The bell rang, indicating that it was break. Everyone had finished their lunch, and put away their own dishes.

"Bye everyone! Have to do work!" I said, waving and walking away. Somebody grabbed my forearm, Gogo, who spun me around.

"Ahem. You have work, again?" she spoke, while the others looked at me expectedly.

"Right. Sorry." I responded.

"Come on! Let's go out for bubble tea!" Fred exclaimed.

"We just ate." Wasabi stated.

"I DON'T CARE! BUBBLE TEA IS AWESOME!"

Everyone else in the cafeteria turned around sharply and looked at all of us, glares marking their faces. I yelped faintly and hid behind Hiro, suddenly feeling extremely self-conscious.

After a few seconds, everyone turned back to whatever they were doing. I sighed heavily, moving away from my human hiding place.

"What was that?" Hiro asked me.

"Instincts." I replied.

"Instincts?"

"Uh huh, instincts." I confirmed, looking at the ground.

"Bubble tea!" Fred exclaimed, though not as loud as before, while fist pumping the air.

"Yeah!" exclaimed everyone else, following Fred's lead and fist pumping the air as well, before exiting the building to then enter the nearest bubble tea shop.

* * *

 **A/N: And that's what happens when Mari randomly has an idea spring up in her mind. And when people look at her harshly. Mari fun facts, peeps.**

 **About my updating, yeah. It's not exactly every Saturday, it's irregular. So I will be updating every Saturday and other times during the week (because I'm an impatient idiot. Yay me).**

 **Sad that I had to say goodbye to the school leavers from this year yesterday. They were great friends.**

 **Stay awesome!**


	8. Chapter 6

**A/N:**

 **(•ー•** **) I FIGURED OUT HOW TO MAKE A BAYMAX FACE! YES!**

 **Moving away from that, hope you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

-Hiro's P.O.V.-

I pulled Baymax's red case into Fred's bedroom.

"Hey guys!" I said, waving to everyone.

"Hey Hiro! How's it going?" shouted Fred.

Everyone gathered around a table, sitting down on one of the nearby couches. I activated Baymax.

"Hello, I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. Hello everyone."

"Hi." everyone greeted Baymax.

"So, Hiro, why did you call us here again?" asked Gogo.

"I just wanted to discuss a couple of things. Firstly, I've noticed that there haven't been any serious crimes committed in the past month. It's been quiet. That's what's been making me suspicious. I feel that someone's planning something major. Does anybody agree with me?"

All hands rose. Honey Lemon spoke, "Let's check the news, just to be sure."

Fred turned the television on, but, sure enough, there was absolutely nothing bad happening.

"Okay, so what's the next thing? asked Wasabi.

"Well, you know that mystery superhero, Yin? The one that's appeared around town recently?"

Everyone's head nodded.

"I don't know why, but something's odd about her. Her voice sounds strangely familiar..."

"All in good time, Hiro. We'll find out soon enough." Gogo spoke wisely, while giving me a relieving smile.

"Okay. Now, how about we play some video games?!" Fred yelled.

"Yeah!" exclaimed everyone else.

After around forty-five minutes of Super Mario Bros, we all decided that Gogo was the winner.

"Hey, can we go to SFIT? I'm getting a little bored."

That coming from Fred, everyone else was very bored, so I packed up Baymax, and we all drove off in Wasabi's car.

* * *

-Mari's P.O.V.-

"YES!" I screamed.

I finally finished it. I had first drafted my design on a blank sheet of paper, but that was an hour ago. Now, here I was, looking at my newly-made blueprints. I was so happy, and there was only one thing that would be suitable for a celebration.

"Gummy Bears." I uttered, running to my mini pantry/fridge (where I stash my lunch and stuff). I grabbed a pack of the glorious gummies, sat back down, and opened the bag.

"Hey, Mari, I just wanted to drop by and... uh, what are you doing?"

I turned around in my spinny chair to see each member of the gang peeking out from behind my lab door. I raised an eyebrow. "And what are you guys doing?"

"I asked first." stated Hiro.

I rolled my eyes. "Celebrating. Now answer my question."

Hiro replied, "We were just checking to see how you were doing. That shout can be heard from the other end of the building, you know. Wait... why are you celebrating?"

"I finally finished the blueprints for a random project."

"Ooooh. Can I see them?" Hiro asked, moving to where they were, persuading everybody else to follow him inside.

I snatched the blueprints from my desk and put it into a drawer. "It's a surprise." I explained.

"Awww, can't you show me now? Hiro wined.

"No, you'll have to wait."

* * *

He looked down at my hands, and consequently, what they were clutching.

"GUMMY BEARS! GIMME!" But before he could take the bag, I moved it out of his grasp.

"Mine." I stated.

"But..."

"Mine!"

"No, I..."

"Mine, not yours!"

A smirk appeared on Hiro's face. "We'll see about that."

Hiro began to try and snatch the packet of gummy bears away from me, while I got up from my chair and kept running around the room, trying to prevent him from taking the bag. We both giggled and squealed (mostly me), like we were little toddlers.

Hiro lunged for the bag, and I stepped backward, a little too far, maybe, which ended in me falling over and Hiro consequently falling on top of me. I sighed.

"Fine. You can have half of them." I stated, finally giving in.

"Yes!" Hiro screamed.

We both got up, allowing Hiro to race for the spinny chair, and sit down on it hurriedly. So, when I got up and walked over to my chair (where I wanted to relax), Hiro was already sitting there. He gave me a proud, toddler-like, gap-toothed grin, and in response, I turned my face into a pout, but took a seat on my desk anyway. We both shared the packet of gummy bears. The situation was very comical, yet everyone stayed serious.

"You know you're fifteen (Hiro) and fourteen (Mari), and not four, right?" Gogo queried, sassily.

"Maybe." we both answered, mouths full of gummy bears.

"You know, I was only joking about how you two suit, but you two actually suit!" Honey Lemon pointed out.

"Honey Lemon?" Hiro and I both started in sync.

"Yeah?"

"Never. Gonna. Happen."

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Well, that's that. You enjoyed this chapter, right? RIGHT?!**

 **Apologies for the short chapter. I'll make up for it, I promise.**


	9. Chapter 7

**A/N:**

 **Enjoy da chapter!**

* * *

-Mari's P.O.V.-

It was two months after I had finished drawing up my blueprints, and during that past month, I'm sure I have had at least a thousand visits from the gang. And successfully created a robot. To actually submit it as my end of year robotics assignment, I had to type a short summary about it. Using my personal laptop, this is what I wrote:

 _This year, I have invented a female android, made to look like a twenty-five year old, and acts like a guardian. Her name is Actroid-MaYa, or, better known as Maya._

 _Maya can change her synthetic skin to either look like any other human being, or at request, bear transparent skin, revealing her state-of-the-art mechanism and blue-tinted vein tubes transporting pulses of electricity throughout her body; including her individual strands of hair, which can light it up at times. This helps to find problems within her system._

 _When she looks human, she sports strawberry-blonde hair that flows like a waterfall down to her elbows. Her skin is fair, and her eyes are a silvery blue. She usually wears an orange top, denim jeans, and a black hoodie._

 _Maya is loyal to the carbon-fibre bone, and owns all the properties of a best friend. Almost a mother, actually. She is programmed with various databases, such as wellbeing, entertainment and healthcare. She acts like a human being does, with realistic speech and actions. She also has the ability to download different databases._

When I had finished, I wiped away a single sweat bead, and lay back in my chair. It was 5:30pm, and getting dark out.

Since I had (finally) completed my project, I packed my creation in its portable case, pushed it into a corner, and headed home without any hassle.

* * *

I walked through the glass door of the Lucky Cat Cafe, and waved to Aunt Cass. She waved back, although, when she noticed it was me, she ran over to me and gave me a bone-crushing bear hug.

"Hi, Mari! It's so good to see you again! Have you finished your project?"

"Yeah. It was a lot of work."

"Hmm... Must've been. Why don't you go upstairs? I'm just going to close the cafe, and then I'll bring out dinner for all of us." Aunt Cass spoke excitedly.

"Sounds good." I responded, before tiptoeing upstairs.

I reached the top of the second flight of stairs, and peeked around the doorway. Hiro was sleeping on his spinny chair, head resting on his desk. I grinned mischievously, while rubbing my hands together.

I walked over to were Hiro was, then jumpscared him, because, YOLO.

* * *

"RAAAAAAAAAA!"

"AHHHH!" Hiro screamed, waking up, then lost his balance, and fell onto the wooden floor.

"MARI, WHAT GIVES?!" Hiro shouted at me, with a glare. Although, when he realised that I was actually here, he jumped up from the floor, and gave me another bone-crushing hug.

"Good to see you too, Hiro." I forced out sarcastically.

Hiro backed away. "Sorry about that."

"It's fine. Dinner will be ready soon." I said, moving to my side of the room, unpacked my shoulder bag and started putting in the usual contents: Fujita costume, hairbrushes, makeup bag, treasured book, important black bag...

"Hey, what's that?" Hiro questioned, pointing to the black bag. _Oh no,_ I thought.

"I-It's nothing. Why do you ask?" I spoke, talking fast, while giving him a nervous smile.

"You keep a lot of secrets from me, Nakata. Just remember that they can't be kept secrets forever; I'd find out someday." Hiro answered, whilst turning his back to work on his end of year robotics project.

I froze. _It was the truth. I can't hide secrets forever._ I gulped. "Yeah..." I said, my voice inaudible to him.

* * *

"Hey, come down you two, dinner's ready!" Aunt Cass called out to us from downstairs.

Both of our heads perked up at the word 'dinner'. We wandered downstairs. Aunt Cass had finished setting the table with pasta, and now was busy watching a movie, possibly Frankenstein, one of her favourites.

But, suddenly, the movie changed to the news broadcast.

"What the..." I muttered subconsciously.

"We have interrupted this program to report breaking news. Multiple fires have broken throughout downtown San Fransokyo, and the case is filed as suspicious activity, as stated by Chief of the police department. The fires started around fifteen minutes ago. We are currently waiting for more details from our reporter at the scene..."

Hiro and I then rushed upstairs. Hiro ran over to Baymax, deactivated and in his red case, opened out a little handle, and pulled him back downstairs. I turned to look at Hiro, but he had already disappeared down the bottom set of stairs.

* * *

-Hiro's P.O.V.-

I tugged a deactivated Baymax into my garage, put him down, and said the magic word.

"Ow."

"Hello, I am Baymax..."

"No time! Come on!" I shouted, cutting him off.

I quickly assembled the unique armor onto Baymax, then myself. I led Baymax outside and climbed on top of him, locking my shoes and gloves into the electromagnetic ports.

"Up!"

Baymax obeyed, and we shot straight up, not stopping until we were about eighty-five feet off the ground.

"Full thrust Baymax. Downtown area." I paused. "Please." I said looking down at his face.

"Very well, Hiro."

A few minutes later, we were both standing in the centre of the downtown area. The gang was already helping, putting out the ferocious flames and helping citizens, along with...

 _Yin._

Baymax and I started to help at least eighty distressed people out of numerous buildings.

* * *

Yin, Baymax and I helped a woman out of an almost fully burning building. The woman looked at us, eyes wide in worry. "My...my daughter...s-she's still in there..."

Yin and I looked at each other. Even though I technically couldn't see her face, she seemed to be hyperventilating, and so I guessed she was worried too.

Yin ran to the building, now completely engulfed in the life-threatening flames. However, I chased after her and grabbed her forearm, not allowing her to run any farther.

"What are you doing?!" I questioned Yin.

"That woman's daughter is in there. Someone has to help." she replied.

Yin pulled her arm away from my grasp, not that I was stopping her. I was frozen to the spot, eyes as wide as they could possibly be.

Honey Lemon rushed up to me, and, seeing me in this state, put an arm around me.

"Hiro, is there something wrong?" she asked me, a look of concern washing over her face.

"T-that was exactly wh-what Ta-Tadashi..." was all I managed to blurt out, before I sank to the ground, silent tears releasing from my eyes. Honey Lemon pulled me into a side hug, until I could regain control over my emotions. My crying reduced to hiccups, which Honey Lemon chuckled at.

* * *

A moment later, Yin rushed out with a conscious, yet unmoving form in her arms, but I didn't notice her, until...

"Hisa!" the woman shrieked. My head jolted upward to look at the woman, who was hugging her daughter tightly, tears of joy streaming down each of their faces. _So they made it out alive,_ I thought to myself.

Yin was standing beside them in a proud pose, and I was sure that, underneath that helmet, she was smiling victoriously.

I walked over to her. "Nice, Yin!"

"Thanks Hiro!"

 _Wait a second, she knew my name. I never told her, so how did she know? Maybe Yin is somebody I know..._

"Who are you?" I asked her.

"A Homo sapien sapien. Or human, like you." Yin answered.

I rolled my eyes. _She's not shy like Mari, but whatever._ "I meant, what is your identity?"

"Well..." she started, but then the watch on her black jumpsuit (which appeared to be touchscreen) started beeping rapidly. Yin glanced at the watch, and tapped it once. An alert popped up.

"Uuurghh, what now?!" she spoke harshly. I tilted my head to the side, while furrowing my eyebrows. _This makes no sense..._

"Yin..."

"Sorry Hiro, I have to go. I'll tell you some other time, okay?" Yin hurriedly said, before taking off into the sky once more.

Gogo came up behind me. "Uh, Hiro? We managed to save everybody, and the fire department has dispatched some fire engines here. This mission is definitely a success."

My unreadable face changed into a relieved one, complete with a warm smile.

I paused for a moment. "That's awesome. Let's go home, guys."

"Why don't we all make a stop at the cafe first? I'm sure everyone's hungry, and you all know how much I personally love free food." Fred requested.

"Yeah!" everyone agreed.

* * *

Everybody filed through the glass door of the cafe, and sat down at our usual booth. Around two minutes later, Mari walked over to us.

"Welcome to the Lucky Cat Cafe, may I take your order?" she started.

"Um, uh, you know we're your friends, right?" I questioned.

"Awwww, you ruined the act! I was helping Aunt Cass though a busy night! Oh well, what can I get you guys tonight, hmm?" _Well, that rules out Mari being Yin. She was helping at the cafe all this while..._

"The usual." was everyone's response.

* * *

"Okay, your 'usuals' will come shortly." she said, turning away. Although, before she could leave us, subconsciously, one of my hands clasped hers.

Mari spun around on her heel swiftly, eyebrows furrowed, but that soon changed. She looked straight at me, and in return, I stared straight back at her. Without knowing, both of our lips curled up in an uneven smile, which then made both of our faces flush a crimson red.

The moment ended with Gogo snapping her fingers in front of our faces. "Hey, you two lovebirds, I think that's enough flirting for one day." she stated sassily.

Both of us fell back to reality at once. Mari turned to leave, again, but our hands remained intertwined. We both felt the tug from our arms, and looked down at our hands, which didn't help; we both blushed a dark red.

"I think that's Hiro's way of saying, 'Do you want to sit with us after you've finished helping?', Mari." Wasabi said, elbowing me in the middle of the sentence.

And "Hey!" was my super intelligent reaction.

"Yeah, sure, just let me get what you wanted." Mari responded, letting go of my hand. "And," she stated, turning to me, "I wonder what it is with you and restraining me." she chuckled, and then walked away. She seemed unfazed by what just happened. I shook my head sadly before joining in the current conversation.

* * *

-Mari's P.O.V.-

I remained calm until I pushed past the door leading to the cafe kitchen. Then, I dropped the act. My face lost its colour. I brought a hand up to my racing heart. _I can't believe that just happened... Do I..._ But then, I stopped myself. _NO! I can't trust the Hamadas. Or the gang, for that matter. They'll just betray me..._ I thought, opening the kitchen door to peek outside.

 _Like everybody else._

"Sweetie, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I looked up, to meet Aunt Cass' worried gaze.

"Uh, yeah. Just forgot why I was here." I paused nervously, before continuing, "Ah, now I remember! I had to get the last table their food!" I said, clapping my hands once.

"Okay, who are they, and what did they ask for?" She asked, curiously.

"They're the gang, and they wanted their usual orders." I responded.

"Ah, my favourite regulars. I'll just hand you the stuff, and you can give it to them. After that, you're free."

"Okay! Thanks Aunt Cass!"

"Hey, I'm the one who should be thanking you!" Aunt Cass told me as she balanced plates on my arms and head.

She then opened the door for me, and I walked over to the table the gang were seated at. I quickly put down the plates, turned back to get the drinks from the kitchen, set the drinks on the table, pulled up a chair, and sat down.

"Is that all what you wanted?" I asked the gang, hospitably.

"Yep." everyone said in sync.

"Great." I said, picking up a napkin to fan my slightly sweating face with. Everyone looked at me, amused, then resumed to their conversation.

* * *

The topics ranged from college projects to Honey Lemon's new phone cover, but the last topic, well...

"Honey Lemon, is it true that you and Tadashi were secretly dating?" Fred interrogated casually.

Honey Lemon froze and bit her lip. I understood perfectly. If if was true that she and Tadashi were secretly dating, it would be normal for her to feel upset about it, since Tadashi is... deceased.

"Honey, you don't have to say anything, if it hurts that much..." I reassured her.

Everybody (besides Honey Lemon) stared at me, shocked.

Honey turned to me with a sad smile, something rarely seen from the usually springy teenager. "It's okay. I can't keep feelings cooped up forever."

* * *

And Honey Lemon started talking, while everyone else listened to every word.

"Around two years ago, Tadashi and I found out we both liked each other, but we never told you guys about it; we thought you wouldn't approve of a relationship just yet.

So, we were both planning on telling you at the student showcase a few months ago, but, well, you guys know what happened. I honestly don't know what to do with my life, now that he's gone."

After the brief backstory **(A/N: I think you call that a backstory)** , Honey Lemon let out a huge breath nobody knew she was holding in. "I feel so much better, now that I've confessed..." she stated, uncharacteristically.

I scooted my chair over to Honey Lemon, and put an arm around her. "That must have done you some good." I then moved closer and whispered in her ear, "I had a feeling that that jumpy personality was a little fake."

"Wait, how did you know?" Honey asked, eyes widening suddenly. _Man,_ I thought, _I just keep surprising everyone, don't I?_

Everybody else gave me quizzical glances, nobody except Honey Lemon and I knew what was going on.

"I can tell." was my reply.

My touchscreen watch beeped once, which made me look down at it. 10:00pm.

"Uh, you guys, it's ten o'clock right now..."

"SNAP! IT'S PAST MY CURFEW!" yelled Wasabi, as he bolted out the door and jumped into his car, waiting anxiously for the others to hop in as well.

Everybody else laughed and said their goodbyes, then filed out of the cafe and into Wasabi's car, which soon drove off.

* * *

Hiro and I helped Aunt Cass pack up the last few things and washed the dishes.

"So, why did the both of you rush out just after the news report, hmm?" Aunt Cass asked us casually after we had finished.

"I just remembered that I needed to do something extremely important." Hiro stated, matter-of-fact, but then one eyebrow raised. "Wait, you went out too, Mari?" he questioned me.

"Well, uh, yeah, I needed to buy something important sometime today, but never got to it."

"Huh."

Hiro's gaze met my watch. At once, his eyebrows furrowed, and he elevated my right forearm to get a closer look.

"What the..." he muttered.

I yanked back my arm. "And your motive is..." I asked him, waiting for him to complete the sentence. But I just got an apology.

"Sorry." he said. "It's just that...nothing. It's nothing." he halted himself.

I rolled my eyes. "And I'm the one with the secrets." I muttered sarcastically.

* * *

 **A/N: Aaaand chapter!**

 **'You keep a lot of secrets from me, Nakata. Just remember that they can't be kept secrets forever; I'd find out someday.' Another quote to me, and great advice to you.**

 **Hiro x Mari fluff! Okay, that's enough... Hey, that rhymes! Aaaand now I spoilt it... Wow.**

 **Just so you guys know, mostly everything in the story will be brought up gradually. Rushing isn't the answer, n'est ce pas? (French XD)**

 **That's right, I light-heartedly support Tadahoney. What? I think it's cute.**

 **If anyone thinks that I'm comparing the protagonist in the story (Mari) to myself, they're wrong. I chose Mari because it meant rebellious, which fits into Mari's personality quite well.**

 **And I chose Yin for Yin because, well, it was the first nickname that popped into my head, and I'm too lazy to change it (⌒-⌒). Sorry about that.**

 **And yeah, bad impressions, again. Stupid, Yin. Stupid, stupid, stupid. *facepalms repeatedly***

 **Honestly, I'm not mean... I think. I'm only mean to the people that annoy/bully me, a lot, and those people are usually (boy) school students. Nobody in particular... *cough cough***

 ***clears throat* I think I choked on something. Must've been that 'nobody in particular' comment (see what I mean by mean?).**

 **So that's the stupid, regretful, confusing, long author's note. See you later!**

 ***facepalms harshly due to excessive rambling and horrible impression, then lets out a silent scream due to painful touch, rolls eyes at reaction, and continues fanfiction as normal***

 **THAT is what happens when you're this paranoid... *sighs heavily while holding head in hands***

 **Did you enjoy the extra long chapter? *fistbumps random reader* (told ya I'd make up for it).**

 **This chapter is more than 3000 words! Yay!**

 **Goodbye peeps, and stay awesome! (Now let's post this before I decide to say any more.)**


	10. Chapter 8

**A/N:**

 **And so, we meet again. How are you? Good? Good :D.**

 **I will explain stuff in the footnote.**

 **No lyrics today, instead:**

 **\- "What? Go to college like you? So people can tell me stuff I already know?"**

 **\- "...Unbelievable."**

 **Yeah, I'm stupid, four and fourteen, moving on (just... don't ask why I said that).**

* * *

-Mari's P.O.V.-

I groaned and fanned myself with the sheet of paper I was busy writing on, laying back in my chair in the process. I glanced at my watch, which beamed 8:30pm, way past my curfew. _Crap! Aunt Cass is gonna kill me!_

"When I work late, this happens..." I grumbled to myself.

I sped out of my private lab, and after pressing every lift button repeatedly, I gave up after a few seconds with an irritated groan, and hurriedly clambered down multiple flights of stairs instead, before bursting through the fragile glass doors of the SFIT robotics lab and onto the rough concrete.

I began to run in the direction of the cafe, but as I turned a corner on a busy street, someone bumped into me, and the force saw us both fall to the ground.

"What the..." I mumbled under my breath. I looked down at my slightly scraped arms, then at the figure I collided with.

* * *

A mess of long blonde hair fell in front of a female face with delicate features. Silvery-blue shocked eyes looked back at me. I figured she was around my age, maybe a little younger.

"Omigosh! I'm SO sorry! I never look where I'm going." the girl spoke hastily.

"It's fine. That's exactly what I was doing too." I said warmly, helping her up to her feet.

She sighed in relief. "I'm glad you understand. My name's Shigeko."

"Nice name. Mine is Mari." I replied, holding out my hand for her to shake it.

Shigeko paused for a moment, staring at my outstretched hand quizzically, before shaking it daintily.

"So... how's your day been?" I asked Shigeko.

"Good. Hey, do you know about the end-of-year exams that have been given out? They are SO hard!"

"And what grade are you?"

"Tenth. I moved up."

I nodded. "Okay. Well, no, I don't actually know much about the exams."

"What do you mean? Every high-school gets them."

There was a short silence, as no party knew what to say.

"Wait, what school do you go to then, if you don't know?" Shigeko said, looking at me curiously.

"SFIT." I spoke.

"No you don't..." Shigeko said with a disbelieving attitude.

"I'm serious."

"Wait... so you mean you actually study at the institute? But you're so young!" Shigeko exclaimed.

I chuckled. "I get that a lot."

"So what are you, a super genius?"

"Uh-huh."

"Oh. I suddenly feel so small around you."

"Don't be. I'm good at some things, you're good at some things. That's what makes people special."

"All right."

Shigeko's stomach rumbled. She chucked.

"I think I'm hungry."

"Me too." I commented as I suddenly felt the familiar urge to eat.

"Do you want to, maybe, find a restaurant or something?"

We both looked around for a place to eat, and both our eyes rested on...

The Lucky Cat Cafe...

"Hey, how about that!" Shigeko spoke, pointing at the cafe.

I didn't know why, but I suddenly felt an unnerving shiver down my spine, which made me flinch.

Shigeko looked at me, one eyebrow raised. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. That looks like a good place." I replied unenthusiastically.

* * *

We sat down at a table right at the back. I decided to lay my arms and head on the table so no one could see me, and so I did, holding in the tiny yelp due to the burning scrapes.

"Hello, welcome to the Lucky Cat Cafe! What would you like this evening?" a certain chirpy voice asked us. I buried my face further into my arms.

"Um... I'll have a bacon and egg quiche, with a cherry blossom cupcake and a glass of lemonade, please." Shigeko said, looking over the menu.

"And what would you like... are you okay sweetie?" Aunt Cass questioned me.

"Yeah. I'll have the same, thank you." I muffled out in a fake medium-high pitched voice.

"Okay! I'll get you your orders as soon as I can!" Aunt Cass said, walking away to the counter.

There was a brief moment of silence, before Shigeko tapped my wrist.

"Are you okay? Because, I have the feeling that you're not."

I violently sat up. "Fine, I'm not."

"What's the problem?"

"Nothing important.." I said turning my head away.

"Okay. You can tell me when you're ready, I guess."

There was an awkward silence. Shigeko was drumming her fingers on the table, bored.

* * *

"Here you go!." Aunt Cass spoke, breaking the silence, placing our foodstuffs on the table, and taking the money I had laid out.

"Thank you." Shigeko and I both replied in sync, directing our heads toward her.

"Mari?" Big mistake.

I cringed. "Oh... uh... h-hi Aunt Cass..." I muttered, resting my cheekbone on my hand.

"Wait, you know this woman?" Shigeko inquired.

"Yeah." I replied.

Aunt Cass glanced over at Shigeko, before turning back to me.

"I expect a good explanation after this." Aunt Cass concluded with narrowed eyes, before turning away.

"Is she your aunt?"

"Uh... let me check..."

I grabbed Aunt Cass' arm and pulled her back.

"Aunt Cass, are you actually my aunt?"

"Informally, I'm your aunt, but formally, I'm just your legal guardian. Unless, of course, you want to change that..."

"No! I don't want to put you though anything else! Thanks Aunt Cass!"

Shigeko looked at me like I was crazy.

"Legal guardian? Are you adopted or something?"

I bent over to take a sip of my lemonade. "Yeah."

"What happened to your parents?"

I swallowed the lemonade painfully. "They died in a car crash around eight years ago."

"Oh. Sorry I brought it up."

"It's fine. It was a long time back."

"Hey, does it hurt a little every time you thing of them?" Shigeko asked with her head tilted to one side.

"I have to admit, it does sting, because I know that my parents aren't with me, but it's every so slightly. Why?"

"I was just curious. I have a similar problem; my parents are still alive, but the sad thing is, they don't act like they are. I've never actually seen them, and in the three or four rare times I've seen them, the don't acknowledge my presence."

"Oh..." I exclaimed as I noticed a tear break free from one of Shigeko's eyes, which made her want to stare at the table as though it was the most interesting thing in the world.

I leaned over across the table and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, I know it's hard to deal with every day, but this is what you should do. Every time you think of that, avert your thoughts to the things in life you're grateful for."

"Like you?"

"Me? That's the first thing you thought of?" I spoke skeptically, with an eyebrow raised.

"Well yeah. It's only been an hour, and you've already made me feel better, Mari."

"Huh."

Silence.

"This is where you say, 'thank you'." Shigeko spoke sassily.

"Okay, okay! Thank you for the... compliment. Better?"

"Better." Shigeko said with an unbelievably cheeky grin, before bursting into laughter along with me.

"Looks like you've made a friend, Mari." Aunt Cass stated as she walked past our table.

Shigeko extended her hand. "Should we be friends?"

I gladly shook it. "Yeah. Friends."

"Oh, and Mari?"

"Yeah?"

"You give out great advice..."

"Aww, thank you!"

"Too often."

"Oh."

Shigeko's phone vibrated once. She took it out of her pocket, and glanced at a new text.

"Well, I have to go. My 'legal guardian' wants me to come home."

"Your legal guardian?"

"Well, she's my cousin. Or cousins, I have another one that helps take care of me too."

"Okay then." Shigeko turned to leave.

"Wait, hold on." I stopped her.

"What?"

"Should we swap phone numbers?"

"Good idea."

We both exchanged phone numbers hurriedly.

"Bye Mari!" Shigeko yelled as she ran out onto the streets.

"Bye Shigeko!" I called out after her.

* * *

Aunt Cass and I closed the cafe, and then walked upstairs.

I continued walking up to the second flight of stairs, but before I could climb the first step, Aunt Cass hauled me back.

"I need an explanation, Mari." she said sternly.

"Oh yeah." I replied.

Aunt Cass lead me over to the lounge area, and made me sit on a couch.

"Mari, what in the world were you doing that could've made you so late?"

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. "I was working at college."

"Are you sure? Nothing else?" she interrogated.

"No." I answered faintly.

Aunt Cass inhaled a deep breath. "Tell me what you were working on."

"My project."

"Is it new?"

"Nope. It was the last project."

"You mean the project that you stayed day and night at college for?"

"Uh huh."

"Out of curiosity, what is the project supposed to be?"

I started to quote. "All my projects are strictly confidential between the college teachers and the inventor, for obvious safety reasons. I am not going to breach..."

"Okay, fine. But why are you still working on it?"

"Well, I realised that there was a lot of upgrades that could be done on it. And I got so absorbed in it that I lost track of time."

Aunt Cass sighed heavily. "Mari, you try your hardest for everything, everyday, right?"

I nodded.

"Don't you think you're trying a little too hard?"

She had a point.

"I guess." I mumbled out.

"Please Mari, just relax yourself a little. I don't like to see you like that all the time."

"Alright."

There was a brief silence for a few moments, before Aunt Cass changed the topic.

"How did you meet that girl?"

"Shigeko? Well, after realising the time was way past seven, I rushed out of my lab. I wasn't looking where I was going, as usual, and so I collided with Shigeko. We apologised, introduced ourselves, then suddenly we both felt hungry, we spotted the cafe, and then, you know..."

"And then you became friends, right? Well, that's enough to satisfy me! You are now permitted to sleep!" Aunt Cass spoke in her usual cheerful voice.

"Thank you Aunt Cass!"

"Mari?"

"Yeah?"

"Be extra quiet. Hiro's sleeping."

I looked at her suspiciously. "At this time?"

"I think you'd understand if I say that he's another person I need to talk to about overworking on college projects."

"Ahhh." I uttered, before chuckling.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **H-hey guys... sooo... I haven't updated last Saturday... I have a feeling everybody hates me for this...**

 **Ok. I didn't update last Saturday because:**

 **1\. Our internet modem is currently down.**

 **2\. I have writer's block.**

 **3\. I was busy with a few things.**

 **4\. One of those things was packing and preparing to navigate through Changi airport using a Changi airport map...**

 **Yeah... my family and I are going on holiday soon (not to Singapore, that's just for a connecting flight). I'll leave a HIATUS note explaining more about it. (And if you think I'm going to Japan, all I'm gonna say is 'I wish.')**

 **So, stay awesome (and not mad)!**


	11. Chapter 9

**A/N:**

 **...**

 **PLEASE DON'T KILL MEEEEEEE! *runs away from random flying chair***

 **Okay, okay. I know I haven't been updating for a few days *cough cough* months *cough* but I'm back to continue the story. (_) gome... (That means 'sorry' in Romaji. 'I'm sorry' is mainly said as 'gomenesai' (Romaji is a form of Japanese; it practically is, just using English letters to pronounce it).**

 **I'm so sorry (lel sorry... XD). I'm getting sidetracked.**

* * *

-Mari's P.O.V. (I swear I'll get tired of putting this in, but I probably won't! XP)-

It was 6:00, thirty minutes after college finished. Everyone had gone home, except for a few students who were around two years older than me, and, of course, me.

I calmly walked over the small light-blue bridge, situated on SFIT grounds. I sat down on a wooden bench, under a huge cherry blossom tree, and overlooked the calm river that I had just crossed over.

A soft gust of wind flowed around me. A little pink cherry blossom broke free from the tree above, and as soon as the flower entered my line of sight, I caught it swiftly, but gently.

The blossom was beautifully shaped, the five distinctive petals exact. The tiny filaments were accurately crafted, each topped with precise anthers **(A/N: Sorry if I'm going a bit too in depth here)**. I smiled gently at the sweet flower.

However, another more heavy gust of wind blew the flower right out my hands, and I watched it tumble ungracefully in the air, before it landed softy in the river. The now rough waters overlapped the cherry blossom, submerging it completely, and that was the last I saw of it.

The wind picked up. A lot. To me, it seemed to billow at 120kph. Rain started falling out of dark clouds, which resembled cumulus heavily. Fork lightning lit up the city, which was followed by a tremendously loud clap of thunder. This could only mean one thing.

 _Storm._

 _And home just has to be three kilometres away. These are some of the downfalls of living in San Fransokyo, is it not?_

I began to run in the direction of home. I was halfway there, and then, the heavens burst open with tonnes of pouring rain, which filled up the gutters and created puddles as quick as the lightning the same ferocious storm produced. I turned a corner, and fell, due to the slippery tiled entrance of a book shop, and landed straight into a deep huge puddle. And now, I was fully drenched.

By the time I reached the cafe, I was cold, wet, hungry, and tired. My clothes were completely soaked, and were allowing huge amounts of water to escape.

I entered through the back door, and sighed in relief as I knew I could only dry here. After a brief few moments of regaining my strength, I was able to climb up the first set of stairs.

* * *

As soon as I reached the first floor (finally), Aunt Cass ran over to greet me, but then soon noticed my exhausted, hunched over, soaking form.

"Mari? Why are you soaking wet? You can get ill that way!" Aunt Cass shouted.

"Sorry Aunt Cass.." I mumbled, not able to look my step-aunt in the eye.

"Don't 'sorry Aunt Cass' me! Did you bother to use the bus to get home?"

"...No." I said finally.

Aunt Cass sighed softly, but it seemed to have a hint of frustration. "Next time this happens, use some other form of transport besides walking, for your own health."

"I'll try, but trust me, you can count on that not to happen." I said.

"Mari..." Aunt Cass spoke warningly.

"Okay. I will."

"That's better. Now please change into some dry clothes quickly, and ask Baymax to see to you."

"Yes, Aunt Cass."

* * *

I climbed up the second slight of stairs with all my strength, and pushed my way through the open doorway. I leant my back against the wall, and placed a cold hand over my forehead, try to stop myself from collapsing. That didn't work, and I sunk to the floor fast.

"Woah, what happened to you?" asked a slightly amused Hiro that was sitting on his bed, tinkering with his phone. That reminds me... I need to upgrade my phone sometime.

I was short of breath, so I couldn't speak much. "I... outside.. at SFIT. Storm... had.. run... fell... puddle... soaked... cold... tired..."

"Haha, what?"

"...Never mind."

"Okay."

I turned to Baymax's red case.

"Ow." Not that I had to say it forcefully.

The case folded into itself, and the significant inflatable blob grew larger, until he was his usual height and... width.

"Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. What is causing you trouble?"

By now, I was breathing normally, and was able to speak properly. "A thunderstorm struck outside recently. I was running back in the storm, and... well... this happened."

"On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?"

"Pain? I feel it's probably a three."

"I will scan you now." The plushy vinyl balloon announced monotonous, moving his head up and down to scan my body.

"You are wet, which has lowered your core body temperature to 34.5°C, below the average body temperature of 37°C. You are at high risk of being diagnosed with hypothermia, especially if your temperature falls below 34°C. I will warm you back to 37°C."

Before I could argue about what he was doing, Baymax wrapped his squeaky arms around me, and glowed a bright orange from inside him, which heat radiated from.

"Well then..." I uttered.

"That would be the normal procedure for low body temperatures." Hiro stated matter-of-fact, not bothering to look up.

"I can see that." I said bluntly, turning my head upward to look at Baymax's face.

* * *

A few minutes later, Baymax loosed me from his grasp. "Your core body temperature has been elevated to the proper temperature of 37°C. I will now continue with the procedure."

"Wait, there's more?" asked Hiro, a little surprised.

"I guess." I replied.

"As found the last time, you..." Baymax started.

"Enough Baymax, anything about that topic is confidential." I spoke, an angered bundle of feelings thick and clear in my voice.

"Who has made it confidential?" Baymax questioned.

"Me. The same being you're diagnosing. That information is personal, so please bypass that." I said sternly.

"Very well. I will only reveal it when the time is right."

"I'll be the one to tell, thank you."

"When will you tell?"

There was a short silence as I thought over the question.

"...Probably never." I said softly.

"Precisely. Let me tell."

 _Great. A robot has to make decisions for me. Some girl I am,_ I thought.

"Just... if you have to reveal it, don't do so anytime... soon."

"I can not promise anything."

I sighed. "Fine, but don't do it, like, in the same week. I don't think I'm ready to see people's reactions to my... condition."

I could see Hiro's eyes shaped in a glare, looking straight towards me. _He wants to know pretty bad..._

"Okay. I will skip the topic. You also seem to have a few slight scrapes on your arms and knees. Did you happen to fall?"

"Oh. Yeah, I did actually."

"I recommend you wash them and leave them uncovered. That way they will heal faster."

"Okay."

* * *

I ran downstairs, washed the scrapes, randomly grabbed an apple, took a bite out of it, and climbed back up.

When I arrived upstairs, Baymax had deflated back into his case.

"An apple?" Hiro queried.

"I was hungry." I replied with an open smile, walking to my side of the room.

* * *

I felt I was going crazy for a moment; I thought I could hear a siren screaming from outside.

"Hiro, I think I'm going crazy."

"Why?"

"I think I hear a siren. And I think I'm going crazy because the last thing I remember of the crash that killed my parents were the sound of those monitors in the emergency ward of some hospital. That were coming from my parents' bedside. And it sounded a lot like a siren."

"You speak too fast, Mari. The good thing is that I speak and understand fast English." Hiro said with a chuckle.

"My parents died in a similar way. At times I think I know how you feel."

"That's really reassuring."

I felt like drawing something, so I got out a pencil and paper and thought about what to draw.

I thought hard for a moment, but couldn't come up with anything. I just turned to good ol' nature and looked out the window.

* * *

The HB grade pencil clattered sharply to the floor.

 _No. NO. NO! WHO WHAT WHERE WHEN WHEREWHOWHATWHOTHEHOWWHEN..._ **(A/N: This is how I think when I'm shocked lel XD XD)**

"...whatwhowherehowwhowhenwherehowwhat..."

"Mari, you confuse me. What's wrong?"

But oh most importantly...

"Why?"

"Seriously Mari, you're creeping me out. What's wrong?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but the words just wouldn't fall out.

Hiro couldn't take the agonising suspense. He bolted next to me and looked out my window. His jaw dropped.

"What the..."

The house across the road was on fire.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hope you enjoyed this! Excuse me... *runs away from tonnes of furniture being thrown***

 **I'm back! *table hits head* OWWWW! Are you done yet?**

 **Other guy: Nupe (^o^)**

 **Me: (￣** **)**

 **Baymax: I heard the sound of distress...**

 **Me: Nope. （−＿−；）**

 **Anyway, now my updates are inconsistent (and no, I wasn't dead from all this time I haven't posted) thanks to one person *looks in mirror* talking to you...**


	12. Chapter 10

**A/N:**

 **Hey mah peeps!**

 **Well that was awkward... (-~-) anyway TO THE EDGE... STORY. I MEANT STORY. I'm sorry (this again lel XD) I'm listening to the radio and 'edge' was part of the lyrics (^ - ^)**

 **I'M ON THE EDGE! OF GLORY! AND I'M HANGING ON THE MOMENT OF TRUTH! I'M ON THE EDGE! OF GLORY! AND I'M HANGING ON THE MOMENT WITH YOU! I'M ON THE EDGE, THE EDGE, THE EDGE, THE EDGE, THE EDGE, THE EDGE, THE EDGE!**

 **I'm so sorry.**

* * *

-Mari's P.O.V.-

 _Why?_

 _No. I'm sure I knew why._

 _That damn Ayako... just wants me to be drawn out. To die in that fire. I know I'll just be falling into her trap, but..._

 _I have to. It's who I am._

* * *

I opened the window.

"Mari. Don't do anything rash. Please."

I looked at Hiro.

"Okay." I said with a straight face.

Regardless of what I just said, I jumped out the window anyway and ran right into the burning building. I landed properly, thankfully.

Hiro. Just. Stared.

And stared.

And stared.

"MARIIIIIII!" Hiro yelled after me.

Too late. I was already inside.

* * *

I looked around, for signs of any people. I heard a baby yelling from somewhere. Just, where?

I ran up the flight of steps to the second floor, and as I did, a piece of stair crumbled under my foot. I almost tripped, but didn't.

The baby was in an almost fire-filled cot crying furiously. I managed to get the baby out just before the cot engulfed itself in flames.

I held the baby close so it couldn't breathe in any smoke, and ran back to the stairs. I put a foot on the first step, and the entire flight fell to the floor below.

I ran for the window, but hit my face on a nearby wall. One side of my face was covered in a burn. I was sure it was a second degree burn.

This hindered my escape. With the hit, I also breathed in a lot of smoke.

I knew that if I didn't seek medical attention soon, I was going to die.

I heard happy shouts from ground level, and then some wailing following it.

 _Other survivors must've come out long before_ , I thought.

I coughed furiously as I held the baby even closer and prepared to jump out the window. And then, I made a run for it. I curled myself into a ball, and crashed through the slightly broken window. I received many small cuts on my body. However, the problem wasn't that. The problem was...

 _How do I land?_

I was practically helpless as I fell to the ground. I mercilessly felt a searing pain through my left arm; the one I landed on.

Me - Bad condition. Not horrible, but not good. Should go to hospital.

Baby - Perfectly fine. Not even a scratch. I envied that baby. So much.

People on the ground were staring at me. But when they saw the baby in my arms; calm and actually kind of happy (how even?), a young woman screamed.

"HIKARI! MY BABY!"

The woman looked at me, and gave a sweet smile. "Thank you very much."

 _I love San Fransokyo._

 _Also that baby looks like she has a bright future. What with her mum being so nurturing and all._

Hiro ran out of the house at that moment.

"MARI!"

I stumbled to my feet, and looked at Hiro. Hiro didn't think twice to embrace me in a tight hug. _Owwwwwwwwwww_.

"Please. Don't do that ever again." He whispered, teary-eyed.

"I can't promise anything. It's just my nature to..."

"Rest the world's weight on you shoulders? No, it's not right."

"I'm so sorry." The last thing I remembered saying before I blacked out.

"MARI!"

* * *

I woke up in hospital. I felt my cheek. The entire thing was covered with bandage. My arm was plastered in a cast. The smoke I inhaled was gone, thankfully.

Fred walked into the room. He saw me sitting upright in bed, puzzled. His eyes widened.

"Guys, GET IN HERE." He said with a crazy-wacko smile on his face.

The gang crowded into the emergency ward. They saw me, and then Honey Lemon broke the silence with the loudest high-pitched scream I've ever heard from her. And that's a lot.

"YOU'RE NOT PARANOID! YAAAAS!" Honey yelled.

 _What?_

They all ran to me and squeezed me tight in a huge group hug. When they pulled away, I realised someone was missing.

"Where's Hiro?"

Wasabi spoke up. "Hiro? Oh. Um, he's gone home. Aunt Cass' looking after him; don't worry."

"Right.."

Wasabi continued. "He's probably depressed. I've known him to be a little pessimistic. He might be thinking the worst."

 _Not as bad as when the Tadashi incident happened..._

"Right.."

"I think you should be the one to confront him. When you're dispatched."

"Okay."

It was two agonising weeks worth of medicines and drugs **(A/N: SMOKE WEED EVERY DAY YES 420 IMMA CHUG THIS MOUNTAIN DEW AND DORITOS DOWN MAH OESOPHAGUS ILLUMINATI CONFIRMED GET OUT FROG 360 NO SCOPE ALL DAY EVERY DAY OH BABY A TRIPLE okay okay I'm sorry I'll stop... ALMIGHTY LOAF this was so random please skip this part if you have to read the paragraph again to understand the story (…_…))** before I was cleared. But I was finally dispatched.

* * *

I walked out of the hospital, with the rest of the gang (excluding Hiro) beside me.

We all headed over to the cafe. Everyone except me quickly grabbed a table. I looked at them, then headed upstairs.

Hiro was sprawled on a red beanbag, head in hands. This probably wasn't the best approach (but oh well, it's me), so I took out my phone and turned the volume up as loud as I could. I opened a few things, pressed play, and...

Nothing.

 _What wrong? Has my phone frozen or-_

"JOHN CENA!"

 _Ah, never mind._

The John Cena theme song started to play on loop as Hiro looked up at me with shocked, horrified eyes (but anyone would do that because who wouldn't be scared stiff if they were crying their heart out in silence and then someone just randomly played the John Cena theme song at highest volume?). He then looked at me with the scariest glare I have ever seen, since he probably wanted to be left alone at this time. Yeah I don't think the John Cena idea was a good one.

"Uh... h-hey t-there Hiro. I'm j-just gonna... l-leave now..."

And with that, I sprinted down the stairs being the idiot I was.

* * *

Unknown to me (because I was busy running down the stairs OF COURSE), something clicked in Hiro's mind. His trademark mischievous grin washed over his lips, and he started to follow me down the stairs.

I ran to the back door, but quickly found it was locked. So the only way to go was through the cafe.

Hiro was better than me when it comes to running, and consequently he managed to find the back door locked a few seconds after me, and catch up to me. A few customers glared at us destroying their preferred silence.

I just opened the glass cafe door when Hiro tackled me in a deadly hug.

"Hiro... can't... breathe..."

Hiro loosened the hug a little, but didn't let me go completely.

"MARI YOU'RE OKAY! DON'T EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN!"

"I'm sorry." I muttered; downcast, just loud enough for Hiro to hear.

"Hey, I don't want to scold you or anything. I'm just happy you're okay." Hiro said with a soft smile.

"Okay then!" I said, chuckling.

I then realised Hiro was still holding me.

"Uh... Hiro, you can let go now." I said with a slight smile.

"What? Oh no, I'm not letting you go for a long time. Seeing what selflessness has gotten you into, I don't want to lose you again."

"Hiro, that's sweet, but seriously, let me go."

"Nope."

"Please?"

"Not happening."

"I KNEW IT! I KNEW YOU TWO WERE LOVEBIRDS ALL ALONG!" a feminine voice came from one of the booths.

Hiro and I turned our heads to the direction of where the voice came from. Unsurprisingly, it came from the same booth where the gang were seated at. The voice came from Honey Lemon (because Gogo wouldn't say something like that). We could both see the gang trying in vain to shush her in hopes that we didn't hear her.

Well, we definitely heard those words. Both of our cheeks flushed bright red.

"YOU'RE HUGGING EACH OTHER! AAAAAHHH I NEED TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THIS!" Honey squealed in delight as she pulled out her phone.

Hiro and I both blushed a dark red and looked at each other as soon as Honey took the picture.

"THIS IS SO CUTE! THIS WILL DEFINITELY BE MY PHONE'S WALLPAPER!" Honey screamed as she sat down intently and tapped her phone so fast I couldn't even see her fingers.

Finally she showed the picture to the gang.

"Awwwwww..." they all uttered in unison.

Hiro was the first to break off. "Honey Lemon, why..." he wined.

I laughed. "You sound like a baby."

"Come on, let's join them before Honey decides to post it on Instagram." Hiro spoke with a smile.

We both joined the gang, however I knew that Honey Lemon keeps her photos backed up immediately after she takes them. There was no point in fighting about it.

We all started talking, from school, to politics, to sushi and cats. Our conversations continued long after closing time, and when Wasabi realised he was past his curfew AGAIN, we all parted our separate ways to leave for home.

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Oh. My. Textbook. (I'm weird, get over it already) Eye fownd surch en ermazingg neew sowng! It so gooooood (＾ｰ** **^)ノ** **. Eat bee indee tew da hiyest cahliberr end eet ees dar beyst!* (In case you are wondering, it's 'Sing Me to Sleep' by Alan Walker.**

 ***Incorrect spelling provided for reader's entertainment only, and must not be broadcasted or advertised commercially. All other rights reserved. Entertainment for home use only.**

 **Didn't I just tell you I was weird? Double points for those who understand the paragraph fully! (Tip: Sound all words out loud)**

 **By the way: Hi again guys (^-^).**

 **Just a question: Have any of you ever felt 'awkward/blushy/weird/ACTUALLY BLUSHING BECAUSE OF REALITY/squirmy' when writing a chapter? Because I certainly did; with this chapter! Okay maybe scratch the text in caps if you haven't felt that... To make it worse, I was listening to a seducing love song while writing this; makes it much worse! 〜（ゝ。∂）**

 **Ephitiah. Ephiaph. EPHITIPIH. OH HELL NO WHY IS THIS SO HARD TO SAY UURRGGGHHHHHHHH. :( help meh...**

 **Ephitaph. Epitaph. There.**

 **I LITERALLY just said I was weird. LITERALLY... JUST NOW.**

 **I'm just going to leave now... bye (＞人＜** **;)**

 **...Why did I just spend so much on the authors note?**


	13. Chapter 11

**A/N:**

 **4264872187543489992525336283752518192234456261910895736234567899754284656372926463819274534.**

 **You're welcome.**

* * *

-Mari's P.O.V.-

*time-skip brought to you by bacon cooking in my kitchen (and smiling evilly at me every time I walk past it. Is it plotting something? Doesn't it know it's going to die?)*

It was Autumn, and the air was starting to get colder. Tired fallen brown leaves dusted the asphalt roads, twirling and dancing like ballerinas.

Autumn was my favourite season. For me, it was neither too cold, nor too hot. New Autumn fashion collections appear in stores across San Fransokyo, morning coffee/hot chocolate is a necessity, and of course, there were the iconic Autumn leaves.

* * *

It was about 6:30am, and I was getting ready to leave for college. Now, I know college doesn't start until 8:30am, but I wanted to get an early start on perfecting my new project in my lab. So I picked up my green and black shoulder strap bag holding all my books and other stuff, and climbed downstairs.

I wandered into the kitchen and browsed through the cupboards, 'accidently' eating a tablespoon of icing sugar as I went.

I got out a box of Lucky Charms; my favourite cereal **(A/N: LUCKY CHARM! - Miraculous Ladybug)** , and poured it into a bowl, along with milk and some (normal) sugar for taste.

I heated the cereal in the microwave for some time, than took it out and ate it. All of it. In just 20 seconds. Yes I really love Lucky Charms.

But not as much as gummy bears.

Oh no. Those things are heaven to the highest caliber. I'll eat 3 bags in 20 seconds, honestly. And then most probably throw up later. My choice. 'Eat fast, die young'.

Just kidding. I want to live a full life.

I put my bowl in the sink, and finished a few calculations from my project I had left last night.

And now, I was ready to walk.

It was now 6:40am, and the sun still hadn't risen yet. I don't mind though. In my opinion, sunsets are better than sunrises. Even better, my private lab faces west, and since my lab window that faces west is so large it's pretty much a wall in itself, I am able to gaze into a huge sunset each evening. And trust me, the city skyline of San Fransokyo against bold seashell pink and purple is better than anything.

Well, almost. I could think of a few things... like maybe a k..uh...never mind about that.

Okay, it's better than ALMOST anything.

Aunt Cass was sleepily walking into the lounge, dressed in a (I would say cute) pink bunny onesie. She rubbed her eyes with one hand, which actually made her look even cuter. A little like a real bunny.

Except that bunnies don't have pink fur.

Anyway, Aunt Cass saw me, and looked at me oddly.

"Why are you awake and dressed like that? It's only 6:45am." She said, glancing at the clock and yawning.

"Aunt Cass, I need to go to college so I can get a headstart on perfecting my project."

Aunt Cass took a long, deep sigh.

"Mari, I already told you-"

"Yes, I know. Don't overstress myself. Anyway, I need to go, I'll see you later!"

And with that, I briskly walked down the last lot of stairs and out the back door.

Aunt Cass stared at the door for around half a minute.

Then, she threw her hands up in the air.

"I am 200% done with these college kids! Sometimes I really wish I could summon Tadashi from the dead just so he could help me raise them!"

* * *

Meanwhile, I was peacefully walking on the sidewalk as San Fransokyo was starting to wake up. I remembered when I was sitting inside, watching the sun rise over the San Fransokyo skyline.

Actually, walking on the streets didn't compare to that.

When you're walking on these streets, it's like you're in the middle of a beautiful painting. The city is decorated with a diverse range of vibrant colours, and everything seems very surreal.

However, there are the underground gangs and villains, thriving in dark alleys and even some abandoned buildings. However, they aren't shown in brochures of San Fransokyo.

I turned a corner, walking straight down a path into SFIT. The grounds were almost quiet, apart from a few early students talking to each other.

Unknown to me, a tall, lean boy eagerly watched me entering through the main building, for a schedule of the next month's classes. An eerily devilish grin worked its way onto his lips.

"Don't worry Ayoko, I'm helping you." He said.

"She'll be MINE."

* * *

-Hiro's P.O.V. (yeah it's not Mari anymore, you're welcome)-

The gang and I were all seated in the cafeteria, at our usual table. Mari hadn't arrived yet.

"I was just wondering, what do you think may be currently arising?" I suddenly questioned everyone.

"What do you mean?" Fred asked.

"You know, why no crimes have been committed?"

"I don't know. It seems very suspicious that nothing's happened." Honey Lemon answered.

There was a few seconds of silence.

"Honey Lemon, you wouldn't have known," Gogo started, "but when it was our turn to patrol; yesterday, I noticed three hooded people carrying some shady-looking bags into an alley."

"What did they look like?" Fred asked, leaning over the table, possibly so he could hear better.

"Fred, get back." Gogo stated skeptically.

Fred locked his gaze on Gogo and narrowed his eyes as he slowly moved back.

"When I tried to get a closer look at them, they looked a lot like geishas."

"Geishas?" Wasabi probed.

"Geishas. They actually looked a lot like those villains... I forgot what they're called..." Gogo muttered, staring into space.

"Are you talking about the Fujitas?" Honey Lemon guessed.

"Yeah, that's it!"

"Wait, you said there were three Fujitas!" I declared.

"Yeah... weren't there always three?" Gogo replied.

"But Mari isn't a Fujita anymore...oops..." I realised my mistake.

"Yeah he's right wait sAY WHAT NOW?!" Wasabi started calmly, but soon freaked.

"Umm..." My hand covered the back of my neck and I looked at the ground.

"Hiro, is there something you haven't been telling us?" Gogo asked, squinting her eyes and showing her teeth. She doesn't like having secrets kept from her, and I'm sure the others didn't either.

Everyone leaned in closer.

"Hiro..." Gogo warned.

"Okay, okay!" I yelled. "I'll spill."

I then proceeded to retell the story of Mari's dark past. How we came to know each other, how our parents died, who took her in, what made her end up on the streets, how she became a Fujita, how she managed to enter SFIT; basically, how she managed to survive.

* * *

"...And that's her backstory." I concluded.

"Well!" Wasabi exclaimed.

"Hiro, why didn't you tell us this before?" Honey Lemon asked.

"I... I just wanted you to give her a chance and accept her as a human being, not a criminal menace. I was meaning to tell you soon, but-"

Gogo cut me off. "Sorry, but I don't trust this girl. She's technically still a criminal, even if Ayako 'supposedly' says she's not! What if she deliberately entered the cafe and befriended you as part of a secret plan?! The Fujitas might've found out we're superheroes, and sent her in to gather information or something. And she's too kind! How do you know that's not a front? Give me one reason why I should trust HER?!"

"Gogo..." I looked at her, disbelieved and hurt. _How could she say that?_

However (dare I say it), I started to see her reasoning. Mari's seems to be keeping a lot of secrets, and she seems to be hiding a lot of things. She even seems to get mad at me easily.

In fact, there was absolutely no evidence showing she was not still a Fujita at heart.

I buried my face in my arms, resting on the table. This was too overwhelming.

"Hiro, there's a chance she's right." Honey Lemon stated calmly, but sternly.

"But..." I trailed off.

 _We were childhood friends... how could she?_

But, soon enough, I started to believe she was still bad. I was getter angrier at Mari for trying to earn my trust.

I straightened my back to look up, and expressed such a look of pain, hurt and anger even the gang felt uncomfortable.

"She won't get away with this." I spoke, the words rolling harshly off my tongue.

"Don't worry kid. She won't." Gogo stated, putting an arm around me.

* * *

-Mari's P.O.V. (help me ;'( I'm going to cry after writing this)-

 _Late again._

I'd missed half my lunch break trying to finish off my project. Just to make sure it's perfectly safe.

I quickly ran to the cafeteria, hoping it was still open.

The door was locked.

 _Great,_ I thought. _And today's the day I run out of food in my mini fridge. Guess I'm skipping meals, like old times._

 _The gang usually meet under the largest oak tree on campus to talk during their lunch breaks. I'll catch up with them there, maybe even break the news about my finished invention!_

I took a 5 minute walk to the middle of the campus, where the oak tree was situated. The gang looked like they were deep in conversation.

"Hey guys! What's up?" I cheerfully asked, walking over.

Everyone snapped their heads towards me. Huge glares from everyone seemed to pierce through my soul. I felt like I had done something really bad.

I widened my eyes.

"Don't come here Mari..." Honey Lemon said, anger in her voice. _Well that's different..._

"Um... guys... is there something wrong?" I asked, my voice shaking a little.

"You snake..." I heard someone say.

"W-What did I do wrong?" I stammered, confusion in my voice. To my surprise, there seemed to be a tiny bit of anger in it too.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU DID WRONG?!" Gogo screeched.

And then, to my despair, all hell broke loose.

* * *

"YOU NEVER TOLD US YOU WERE A FUJITA! WE THOUGHT YOU WERE ALWAYS AN INNOCENT HUMAN BEING, LIKE US, BUT REALLY YOU'RE JUST SOMEONE HIDING THEIR CRIMINAL IDENTITY! YOU WERE ONLY COLLECTING INFORMATION FOR YOUR OTHER LITTLE COMRADES, WEREN'T YOU?!"

"I'm sorry... I guess I forgot to tell you that I used to be a Fujita..."

"Oh SURE! OF COURSE YOU FORGOT!"

Thankfully, there weren't many students outside, so no one else heard of what was going on.

 _But I was kicked out... I'm no longer on their side..._

"SOON YOU'D TURN ON US! STAB US IN THE BACK! ELIMINATE US ALL! JUST SO YOU COULD DOMINATE THE CITY OR SOMETHING!"

 _How would eliminating them help me to dominate the city? Unless..._

I widened my eyes.

"DON'T LOOK LIKE THAT! YOU KNOW WE'RE SECRETLY THE MEMBERS OF BIG HERO 6!

 _Yeah, I guessed that._

"THAT WAS YOUR PLAN, WASN'T IT?!"

I was deeply hurt. My eyes became glassy. It was getting harder to see. I took a step backward, but tripped and fell, as I do.

"AND PROBABLY THE WORST THING," Hiro started, standing up, "IS THAT YOU TRIED TO EARN MY TRUST, AND YOU DID! I ACTUALLY TRUSTED YOU! BUT ALL THIS WHILE YOU WERE SCHEMING SOMETHING EVIL!"

By now he was standing over me, probably with the most angrily-hurt face I'd ever see.

"YOU DON'T ACTUALLY CARE ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE, DO YOU? ALL YOU CARE ABOUT ARE POSSESSIONS!"

I gulped.

"MARI, I HATE YOU!"

That did it.

I furrowed my eyebrows and bared my teeth, something I did when I was angry.

"I knew it..." I thought aloud.

"What?" Hiro spoke harshly.

I directed my head up. "I knew you would all turn on me. Everybody does..." I could feel my emotions piling up.

"But that's what you did to us!"

"I never did anything. I didn't want to do anything. You're out of your minds! What made you think all of this?"

"WELL." Gogo exclaimed.

"You're always so secretive about stuff! That mysterious black bag, your case of clinical WHATEVER, your weird sleeping patterns... WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?!"

"But..."

"Sorry, but I don't believe you, and I never will!"

"Then I have one thing to say to all of you, especially you, Hiro Hamada." I angrily pointed a finger straight at him.

"I DESPISE you. Have a nice life without me." I said, spitting the words out sharply. I then walked away.

"You too." I heard Hiro say as I left.

* * *

I was walking to a vending machine, just to get some food to fill my stomach, when it hit me. I just broke a friendship with my best friend. With all of my friends.

 _What..._

I fell to the floor.

 _What have I done?_ I thought, covering my mouth with my hand.

My vision soon turned foggy.

"I'm sorry." I blurted out, my voice cracking. It was meant for the gang, even though I knew they technically weren't here.

I violently got up, and swerved around multiple confused students making their ways down the hallway.

I quickly disappeared down the hallway, tears streaming down my face.

I soon found I was in the textiles unit of the college. That's not far from my private lab.

I sprinted past a few more hallways, the tears becoming waterfalls, and came to a thick glass one which adjoined the main building with the Robotics Lab.

Usually, I'd take my time walking down this particular hallway, because this one gives a view of the college grounds. And the college grounds are stunning. In my opinion though, it's even prettier when it's raining.

However, I was clearly not in the mood.

I dashed through, and turned a corner, almost knocking over a few students. I climbed up many flights of stairs (too muddled for taking the elevator), and reached the top floor, where the largest robotic labs were. These were made specifically for students who may need to stay in their labs for long lengths of time, and/or need bigger working spaces than others.

I ran right to the end of the corridor, where my lab was. I pressed my hand against the scanner, which accepted, and the door opened.

I ran inside, and quickly pushed the door shut behind me, automatically locking it. I ran to my couch, and buried my face in colourful cushions.

And then, I let all my crying out. _I knew I should never have trusted them. Everyone's always betrayed me. Everyone always will._

* * *

After what seemed like an hour of crying (but in reality was only 15 minutes), I walked over to my adjoining bathroom and washed my face, however the tear marks were still a little visible. I then walked back to my couch, and flopped on it.

Since she was now fully functional, Maya was allowed to tour the college.

Right now, she was in my room.

Maya walked over to me.

"When you entered the room, you seemed really sad, so I baked you cookies." The human-looking robot spoke. Maya handed me a plate of freshly baked cookies.

Sometimes it was amazing what Maya could do in a small matter of time.

I gave her a lopsided smile, to show I was grateful. "Thanks Maya, you're a sweetheart. I am feeling content." I said, uttering the key words, while taking the plate of cookies.

"Glad to help." She stated, before deactivating into a blue box.

I set the plate down on a small table, and bit into a cookie.

I sighed. "Happy 15th birthday to me." I uttered as the bell rang for class change.

* * *

 **1st A/N: If you wanted to know, I'd just like to explain about why Mari has a full adjoining bathroom to her lab. Usually, the normal sized labs have just a toilet adjoined, but because Mari tends to stay overnight every time she works on a project, and because she need A LOT of working space, the college allowed her to own one of the largest labs. Basically, it's a larger lab with an adjoining bedroom and bathroom. However Mari likes sleeping on the couch in her lab, because it's more comfy, and it's closer to her projects :P This authors note is way too long XD. Anyway, keep reading.**

* * *

 **2nd A/N:**

 **Me: *singing* And after the show it's the-**

 **Everyone: Afterparty!**

 **This authors note is basically an afterparty. Well, sort of. And yes those are real lyrics from a song.**

 **Also Miraculous Ladybug is now one of my fandoms. It's just amazing ^-^.**

 **Okay, I'm sorry for the cafeteria and oak tree scenes... yeah... eheh... *runs from angry flying chair* sorry but I was just writing and it ended up like that... *runs from angry flying planet* GUYS THIS WENT IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT DIRECTION FROM WHERE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO GO *runs from angry flying galaxy cluster* AND NOW I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO *runs from millions of angry screeching people***

 **Don't worry, I'll get something worked out :) *gets hit in head by angry flying book* I SAID I'LL GET SOMETHING WORKED OUT!**

 **Besides, the gang hadn't known that Mari used to be a Fujita. I just didn't know how exactly they should know about it. Yeah I'm sorry *gets hit in head be angry flying phone* OKAY THAT REALLY HURT PLEASE STOP!**

 **GUYS, I JUST GAVE MARI THE WORST BIRTHDAY EVER I'M CRYING :'(**

 **The plot thickens :) (no I wasn't talking about the cafeteria, oak tree or cookie/lab scenes, I mean the other scene).**


	14. Chapter 12

**A/N:**

 **— WARNING: LONG(ISH?) AUTHOR'S NOTE —**

 **Hai :3 I didn't have internet for like eighteen days but anyway...**

 **So apparently my fanfic has been experiencing technical difficulties. I apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused.**

 **...**

 **GUESS WHO JUST REWATCHED BIG HERO 6! THIS GIRL! *points to self***

 **—**

 **In response to a guest review:**

 **Guest:** _why is a discription a lot like hiro's?!_

 **Me:** _Well. You are a GUEST, who has been freely given access to my fanfiction, and THIS IS WHAT YOU SAY?!_

 _AHAHAHAHAHA I'm only kidding. I feel this is something you should all know._

 _So basically, back when I first started reading fanfiction, I started to want some features that weren't available in other fanfics (because their characters are more diverse or likewise), so from that, I created Mari._

 _I think you may be just talking about Mari's physical similarities to Hiro..._

 _I wanted a character like Mari when I realised that people like her didn't exist (and I'm speaking about her persona as well, however the similarities of that aren't as dramatic as the physical attributes). And I realised that the only way to do this was if I did it myself. And that's how Mari was born._

 _Okay, so I may have gone overboard with those physical similarities... ooops..._

 _Lmao I just realised that I noted in my intro: "If my OC's happen to resemble anybody, it is merely by coincidence." Pretty sure I was only talking about real-life people... XD_

 _I'm sorry, I can't fix that now... not after 12 or so chapters into the fanfic... :(_

 **—**

 **In response to ANOTHER guest review (which isn't even a review XD):**

 **Guest:** _MARI IS YIN FOR SURE!_

 **Me:** _ಠ_ಠ I've gotten some of these kinds of 'reviews', and I don't think some of you know basic Fanfiction Etiquette™ . Please don't voice your opinions in a review and post it, you put ideas into other people's heads, and it spoils what they think. If anyone has to spoil this fanfiction, it's the author and ONLY the author by her own means and rights..._

 _Haha I'm not going to spoil anything :) yet..._

 **—**

 **I guess I left you on a cliffhanger so...here... *throws chapter and runs for life* DON'T KILL MEH!**

* * *

-Hiro's P.O.V. (Better read this because the P.O.V. changed :) hehe)-

 _I didn't think Mari would be the kind to betray people. I guess I was wrong._

I was currently in the middle of robotics class, the third one today. Right now, the teacher was showing the class how efficient lithium-ion batteries are, and the possible dangers. I wasn't paying attention. I knew this stuff.

 _And all this time, I thought she was genuine..._

I subconsciously shook my head and sighed.

"Mr. Hamada, are you paying attention?" the teacher suddenly asked. A few heads turned my way.

"Y-Yes, Miss Moran." I spoke, hurriedly rereading my notes I left halfway.

The bell soon rang for the next class, and everyone filed out of the room. I glanced at the time. I had a free period. I need something to take my mind off what happened.

I walked outside. _Maybe the fresh air will clear my head..._

* * *

-Mari's P.O.V.-

I groaned. _Now that that's happened, what's my home life going to be like? Will Hiro somehow persuade Aunt Cass to kick me out? Will I go back to being a waif on the streets?_

 _I should probably spend the second half of my free period outside, seeing as I have nothing else to do._

I walked outside. I found Hiro sitting on an ebony bench. He seemed to be staring off into space.

* * *

I sat down on the other bench, next to the one Hiro was sitting on. I looked over at him, then looked at the ground.

 _What could I possibly do to mend our friendship?_

"The answer is very simple, my dear."

My head shot up. _Who said that?_

"To your left."

I looked left. My eyes widened. A woman, sort of blurred and translucent, but still pretty clear, was sitting next to me.

 _Wait...who is that..._

"I am someone who has come to help."

 _Is she real?_

"No, I am not, Mari. This is just a figment of your imagination."

 _Do...do I have to speak in order to communicate?_

"No, honey, I'm in your head. Just think whatever you want to say."

 _Okay..._

The woman's voice sounded very familiar.

"I'm actually surprised you haven't found the answer yet."

 _But what is it? How could I possibly make him trust me again without exposing all my darkest secrets?_

"There is a way. All you need to do is show him you care."

 _Show him I care? How?_

"I think that's for you to figure out."

 _Like, comforting him when he's sad?_

"Something like that, Mari."

 _...But what about the others?_

"They'll follow soon enough."

 _... I'll try my best. I thought, standing up._

I looked over at Hiro. He glanced over at me for a split second, shook his head, and looked away.

 _Um..._

"I didn't say you had to do it right now. Just... don't leave it too long... okay?"

 _Okay._ I thought, looking over my shoulder. I gave the woman a sad smile.

"You can do this, Mari." The phantom woman said, a sad smile on her lips.

I got up. _I'll do it._ I put on a determined face.

"That's my big, brave girl."

I took a few steps forward, then stopped. I turned around.

 _A figment of my imagination..._

It was a fact that the human brain couldn't just create faces unaided. _I must've seen her somewhere before..._

I shrugged. _Who would know?_

* * *

Yesterday night, everything seemed normal, except for the fact that Hiro didn't talk to me much, and avoided me. Aunt Cass didn't notice anything different.

It was now one day after the argument.

* * *

I paced around anxiously in my lab. "What could I possibly do to show him I care? Sure, I mentioned that I should comfort him when he's sad, but the only thing for him to be sad about is me being a Fujita, which isn't even true!"

This continued for awhile, until I accidentally banged my hipbone on my desk.

I gave out an aggressive groan. "UUUUUURGH! I GIVE UP!" I spoke, agitated. I flopped onto my couch. Fortunately, I had changed Maya's settings so she'll only activate manually, not automatically (whenever someone is upset, she activates to try and help them).

It was lunch break. My stomach rumbled.

Should probably go get something to eat. Maybe I'll think better afterwards.

* * *

I unenthusiastically trudged my way to the cafeteria. The gang were sitting at their usual table.

As I passed by their table, I realised that Hiro wasn't amongst them.

"Where's Hiro?" I asked.

"Oh, he's in his lab. Said he was too busy for lunch." Fred replied, not turning around.

After some seconds, he recognised my voice.

"Why would YOU like to know?" He asked with a sharp tone.

"No reason. Just unusual for him to be working at this time."

"Whatever. Keep walking, Fujita."

I quietly groaned.

I walked over to where the lunch lady was serving food. I have an idea.

I collected two lunch trays, and started filling them both up with the best food I could possibly get.

When Linda the Lunch Lady (aka Lunch Lady Linda) saw the two trays in my hand, she looked up at me with an amused/surprised face.

"Feeling extra hungry today?" She asked with a chuckle.

I smiled. "No. One of my friends are working overtime. Looks like he'll be skipping lunch if I don't do something."

"Okay. Just bring it back when you're done, Mari."

"Thanks Linda."

* * *

I walked over into my lab. I set one of the trays down on my desk. _Hopefully it'll be warm by the time I get back,_ I thought.

I took a packet from my freshly restocked stash of gummy bears, and set it on the tray I was holding. I then travelled to Hiro's lab. I knocked on his lab door.

"Come in." called a voice from the other side.

I entered the room.

"Gogo, I have great news. I managed to fix-" Hiro abruptly stopped when he saw me.

"What do you want?" he said in an unwelcoming tone.

I sighed. "Look, I heard you were in your lab, and it seemed like you were going to skip lunch, so I got some for you." I said, placing the tray on his desk.

He was about to take a sandwich from the tray when he stopped. "How do I know this isn't poisoned?"

I facepalmed hard. "It's normal food. Do you want it, or not?"

"I don't trust you..."

"Well, then I'm taking the gummy bears." I announced, taking the packet and opening it. I popped a gummy bear into my mouth.

"But..." Hiro trailed off, seeing me torture him by eating gummy bears in his presence.

"What? You think the food is poisoned, that's your problem."

"...Fine. G-Give me those." Hiro muttered, snatching the packet out of my hands.

"But I wanted a lime gummy bear next!"

"Too bad."

I rolled my eyes playfully and started to walk out of the room.

"You know, if you're trying to earn my trust back now, it's not working."

I turned around. "One minute you accused me of poisoning your food, the next minute you're eating it!" I chuckled.

Hiro gave me an annoyed glance.

I sighed. "Listen, I know you think I'm against you, but I'm not. Besides, trust takes a long time to repair itself. I'm not forcing you."

"It's still not working."

"Whatever. Just remember to return the tray to Linda." I stated with a wink as I left the room.

* * *

I quickly finished my lunch and returned the tray. I sat in my room and activated Maya.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Maya asked automatically, tilting her head to one side.

"My friend's thinking I'm out to kill him. I haven't done anything and I didn't want to do anything."

"But have you done anything?"

"What?"

"To make him trust you a little more?"

"A little. He was locked up in his lab, working on something, so I brought him lunch."

"Good start, but you probably need something with a little more... effect."

"Effect?!"

"I may not be able to provide what you should do, as I do not know how bad he is feeling. You are a smart girl. When the time is right, you'll know what to do."

"WHAT?!"

"Like I said, you'll know what to do. Are you feeling content?"

I sighed for what seems like the 50th sigh today. The room was silent for a moment.

"I am feeling content, Maya."

"Thank you." Maya soon deactivated.

I seriously felt like ripping my hair out at this point. "Even Maya doesn't know what to do!"

 _Or does she?_

I groaned. It's not easy to tell what a robot is thinking.

* * *

"Hey, Fujita!" someone shouted from outside the door to my lab, while knocking on it repeatedly.

"Ugh, what now?!" I spoke sharply. I was clearly not in the mood to see anyone.

I opened the door. Standing there was none other than Hiro himself.

"What do you want?" I asked, slightly aggravated.

"Calm down, I was only sent up here to remind you that your classes exist too."

"...oh...riiight..." I scratched the back of my head. "Haha, sorry, I'll be right there." I ran past Hiro, down all the flights of stairs, through the hallway, and into the main building.

Hiro rolled his eyes and followed.

* * *

As I was walking out of the last class, Hiro tapped my shoulder.

"Aunt Cass called me to say we should walk home together. There's been some robbing, apparently. I think it's just a hoax."

"And you agreed!" I smirked.

"You're leaving 15 seconds after me, Fujita."

"I'm guessing that nickname's gonna stick?" I chuckled.

"Well, you are one, aren't you?" Hiro answered nonchalantly.

"No."

"I still don't believe you."

"Whatever you say."

* * *

After 15 seconds had passed, I left SFIT. Hiro was a little bit ahead of me, but I could still see him. I wonder what I should do. _Maybe I should bake something... but I'm not really that good... I'll think of something. I know it._

We were halfway home. It was very quiet today. We were walking along one of the busiest main roads in San Fransokyo. Not as many cars passed us as we walked on the paved footpath. Of course, there was the odd twittering of a bird or two, and the soft gusts of wind that brushed us every now and again.

I felt like something was stabbing me in the back. Not literally, but there was just this odd feeling.

I suddenly felt very uneasy. Something wasn't right. I stopped and turned around. _Nothing. Must just be my jumpy imagination._

I looked in front of me. Absolutely nothing. _Hahaha, and I thought something was wrong._

* * *

That's when I realised Hiro was completely out of my sight. The next turn wasn't for another ten minutes. My breathing became rapid.

 _What the hell?_

I heard shouting coming from a nearby alley.

I started to sprint.

 _Don't worry Hiro, I'm coming._

* * *

I followed the shouting, which transitioned to normal speaking. I could hear it getting louder with every step I took.

Finally, I arrived at a small clearing. I quickly hid behind a trash can.

From what I could see from my hiding place , Hiro was pinned against a brick wall, dagger against his neck. Holding him back from fighting was the infamous Ayako, backed up by Sakura.

 _How did I not see this coming?_

"Are you..." Hiro started.

"Yes, I am Ayako."

"LET HIM GO!" I shouted, raising from my hiding place.

"So Mari did come. Want to help me slice his neck off?" Ayako smirked.

"I knew it."

"No, Hiro-" _Why did Ayako have to say that?_

"You were on their side the whole time! You may as well stop lying!"

"Wait, what?" Ayako gave me a puzzled look.

"I'm not on your side, don't worry." I said with a smirk. "I don't want to be part of a villainous gang who never will benefit."

Ayako scoffed. "And this crazy kid's saying that you're on my side?"

"Yes."

"Well it's true, isn't it?" Hiro protested. "Villains are all the same."

"WELL." Anger seemed to flare up inside Ayako. She tensed her muscles.

"How DARE you compare me to that brat! I kicked her out-"

"I quit." I interrupted her with a cheeky grin.

"CAN I HAVE MY MOMENT PLEASE?!" Ayako screamed at me.

"Just like old times, right Ayako?" I joked.

Ayako groaned. Hiro looked at me oddly, but turned back to Ayako.

"AS I WAS SAYING, I refuse to be compared to that brat! She was kicked out of the Fujita gang, and for good reason! I, under NO CIRCUMSTANCES, will join forces with that pest!"

"Under no circumstances? You hurt me Ayako." I faked a sad pout.

"Can you NOT?!" Ayako then turned back to Hiro.

"Do you see why I hate her?" Ayako asked Hiro.

"Yeah, but I think it's funny."

"Idiot." Ayako facepalmed.

"To tell the truth, I've never seen Ayako so frustrated. But thanks for helping me out with this misunderstanding." I laughed walking over to Hiro.

"Say any more, and your little friend's throat will be slit."

"Okay." I replied, putting my hands up. "What's your offer?"

"You sacrifice yourself."

"Hold up, WHAT? All I did was prank you!"

"Oh, you did way more damage than just a simple prank, Mari." Ayako said darkly, moving closer to me.

"Like what?!"

"Like my sister!"

"Sakura?"

"No, you clod! My older sister, Kimi!"

"What?" I then realised she was talking about Kimiko Harper, who I accidentally dropped a large box of heavy explosives on. It was 4 years ago. I was a Fujita, jumping from building to building, and the box accidentally slipped from my grasp. By sheer coincidence, Kimiko was standing right underneath the path of the box. It hit her right on the head, and it split her head open. She did not recover from the accident.

* * *

"I said I was sorry before."

"Sorry won't bring back my sister!"

"It was a long time ago, Ayako!"

"She's been gone for 4 years! She was everything to Sakura and I! And then you came along and ruined our lives!"

Sakura looked like she was about to say something, but didn't. Hiro stared at me in unbelievable shock.

"You killed my sister. Now you have to go through what I had to go through."

"This isn't right, Ayako!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" She said, slashing her dagger just under Hiro's collarbone. It left a slight cut. Hiro glared at Ayoko.

* * *

I bared my teeth.

"Very interesting reaction, Mari. Let's see what happens if I do it again..." Ayako said sleazily.

I started growling like some kind of rabid wolf. I was at my peak of anger.

Ayako jabbed her dagger into Hiro's shoulder. Hiro let out a cry of pain and turned his head away from Ayako.

I pounced on Ayako. She must've trained hard in these past few weeks, because she was definitely stronger than I remember.

She certainly put up a fight, but I managed to work the dagger out of Ayako's hand. I shakily held it to her throat.

"Wait! Don't do it!" I heard a voice scream.

I looked up to see Sakura, looking at me with frightened eyes.

I looked back at Ayako, who was also frightened.

"I can't do this." I muttered, throwing the dagger to the side, and standing back up.

"HAHA!" Ayako yelled. She quickly stole the dagger and held it against my neck. "I KNEW YOU WERE TOO NICE!"

My eyes narrowed. I pushed against Ayako and knife-handed her nape, knocking her out and sending her to the ground.

Hiro was on the ground, clutching his hurt, bleeding shoulder. I managed to pick him up, bridal style, and run up a nearby fire escape pathway.

I made my way to the top of the building, then jumped over to another one, and another one. This continued for a while until I strategically found my way back to the cafe.

* * *

I entered through a second story window, and soon found I was in the lounge.

Hiro looked up at me. "Mari-"

I looked at his bleeding shoulder. "No time! We need to get you to Baymax!"

I climbed up the last flight of stairs up to the bedroom.

"Speak." I told Hiro, laying him down in front of Baymax's red case.

"I'm not some dog!" Hiro stated weakly.

"That's not what I meant."

"Ow?"

"Correct."

* * *

The plushy robot quickly inflated to full size, and waddled over to Hiro, who was unable to stand up.

"Hello. I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. I was alerted to a sound of distress when you said 'ow'."

Baymax paused for a millisecond.

"Without scanning, I have already distinguished a patch of blood around your shoulder. I will scan you now."

Baymax calmly scanned Hiro.

"I have detected a tiny cut on your neck and small puncture wound on your left shoulder. It seems to have been made by some form of sharp object. The wounds are not very deep, and do not seem critical, however the latter wound will need cautious care and attention. Please have patience as I go through the procedures needed for these causes."

Baymax took Hiro's shirt off (to access the wound/s better **[A/N: Yeah you heard XD]** while I turned away), brought out a cloth; seemingly out of nowhere, and applied pressure to the shoulder wound. He used water from a spray bottle (don't know where he got that from either) to clean the cut on Hiro's neck, and attached a small band-aid to it.

Then, when Hiro's shoulder had stopped bleeding, he used the spray bottle and the unused side of the cloth to clean the wound, and applied Polysporin (an antibiotic cream) to it. He then wrapped Hiro's shoulder up in bandages and helped him put a clean shirt on, giving him ibuprofen and a gentle hug after.

After Hiro had tiredly stated that he was satisfied with his care, Baymax deactivated quietly into his case. Hiro, meanwhile, managed to stand up and move to his bed, and lie on it. After a few minutes, he fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

When I had finished making sure Hiro was okay, I wandered over to my side of the room, and flopped down on my bed. It had been a long day. I didn't bother going downstairs for dinner, even when Aunt Cass called. I curled up and settled in the warmth of my bed, but I didn't get any sleep this night.

* * *

 **A/N: So... that's it...I came up with something guys... Yay longer chappie? *chapter is really bad* I can't believe people are reading this lel...thank you though.**

 **Eheheheh I'm into kpop ehehehehehheheheheh my friend dragged me into it EHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEH**

 **And I have a tumblr (whaaaaaaaat) it's miraculouslytrashycyan... hihihihiihi what have I set myself up for...(fun fact: it's a main blog :3)**

 **And this is being written at 1:10am (WHAAAAAAAAAT), that's why this author's note probably doesn't make any sense XD**

 **Yeah I'm into kpop (*is loud* HAVE YOU SEEN THE TRAILER FOR BTS' LIVE TRILOGY 3 'THE WINGS TOUR' BECAUSE I HAVE AND IT'S AWESOME DHBDHISABDIUSWBD :D)**

 **...if you want to see it, search up** **'2017 BTS LIVE TRILOGY EPISODE III THE WINGS TOUR Trailer' and click on the video with the same name [** **and if it doesn't work don't blame me, YouTube probably doesn't recognise a good video when it sees it].**

 **See ya soon peeps!**


	15. Chapter 13

**A/N: AYYY IT'S RAINING (have I ever mentioned I love rain? XD)**

 **It's also 2am... okay but soft rain at 2am makes me happy :)))**

 ***eating fresh fruit salad while writing this* it's good :3**

* * *

-Mari's P.O.V.-

A loud, buzzing noise awoke me from my thoughts. My alarm clock. 7:30am.

I spent the whole night thinking about what happened before. No matter how sleepy I felt, my brain kept me awake. I was restlessly checking on Hiro every few minutes to see if he was okay. Every time I checked, he was happily sleeping.

But that would never reassure me.

I groaned as I turned my alarm clock off. I was beyond tired. It was very tempting to report sick and just stay at home, but I needed to make sure Hiro would be all right.

 _Woah..._ I thought, _why am I so worried?_

I casted the thought off, and got out of bed; against my own will.

I readied myself and drowsily led myself down the stairs. Hiro was already packing some essentials for college. He looked at me and smirked.

"Wake up, sleepyhead! You need to be alert for the day!"

"Yaaaay..." I uttered with a fake smile.

Hiro chuckled. "I made breakfast for you." He said, gesturing over to a plate of toast and jam.

"Thanks." I spoke, wandering to the table.

Hiro looked at me quizzically. "Is there something wrong today, Mari? You're very quiet today..."

"No, no, no!" I replied, trying my best to brighten up a little. "It's... probably just the morning sleepiness..."

"...Okay... don't take too long eating your breakfast!"

I grinned tiredly at Hiro.

* * *

The walk to SFIT was silent. Hiro was very surprised when I quietly slipped an arm around his shoulders (secretly because it was getting a little hard to move my own weight).

We both made our way through the large entrance of SFIT.

Hiro walked me to my lab. Just as I was about to close the door behind me, Hiro spoke.

"M-Mari? I'm sorry about last night-"

"Stop it, Hiro. It wasn't your fault you got stabbed."

Hiro took a deep breath. "I'll try and convince the gang that you're not a bad person. They don't know that you saved me, after all."

"How will you convince them? They persuaded you that I was bad!"

"Trust me. I know they'll understand. I have a way with persuasion." Hiro stated with a wink, walking away.

I sighed. "You can try, but I don't think they'll believe you." I said as I shut the door.

* * *

I wasn't productive at all today. I didn't get any progress, as far as planning for a project was concerned.

I walked my way to the main cafeteria. I scanned the mass of SFIT students for Hiro, who I found seated with the gang. We he saw me, he waved (adorkably) for me to come over. I gulped, but did.

I approached the table meekly.

"H-Hey guys..." I trailed off. Everyone's head perked up.

"Mari?" Honey Lemon exclaimed, an unreadable expression on her face.

 _This was it. Prepare for the worst..._ I raised my arms to cover my face and torso.

* * *

What I didn't expect, was a tight hug from Honey.

"W-Wha-"

"Mari, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! Well, I did, but I thought you were bad! Aaaargh!"

"Honey-"

"It was all when Gogo said said that she didn't trust you!"

"What did-"

"When Hiro accidentally said you were a Fujita, Gogo made theories as to how you could still be one!"

I looked past Honey Lemon's form, to see Gogo biting her lip.

"We're all sorry! Really, really sorry!"

I looked up at Honey's almost-crying face.

Suddenly, I felt another person's embrace. Gogo.

"Mari... I'm so sorry I put you through all this. I just thought..." Gogo groaned. "I'm not good with apologies! Could you ever forgive me?"

I paused.

"Uhh.. Yeah! I guess it was an honest mistake! I forgive you, Gogo. I forgive all of you."

Everyone stared at me, shocked.

It may not have looked like it, but I secretly didn't want to forgive people right now. However, I wanted things to go back to the way things were.

"...ooooOOOKAY! This girl HAS to be protected!" Wasabi shouted, hugging me.

"Wasabi-" Fred started.

"MUST-"

"Are..." Honey continued, still hugging me.

"PROTECT-"

"You..." Gogo continued, pulling away from the hug.

"THE PURE SOUL!"

"Okay?" Hiro finished.

I bursted out in fits of laughter.

"Guys, stop!" I spoke through the laughing, pulling away from the embrace.

Everyone else laughed with me. My vision started to blur, but I ignored it.

"Should we get our lunches?" Hiro questioned everyone.

"Yeah!" Everyone except me replied, getting up.

I looked at Hiro, surprised.

"How did you-"

"Like I said," Hiro quoted from his past self, "I have a way with persuasion."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks Hiro. I take back what I said about despising you."

It was Hiro's turn to roll his eyes. He started to walk toward the stalls packed with numerous dishes of food. He soon turned around when he noticed I wasn't following.

"Mari? Aren't you gonna have lunch?"

"Uh... I'll just have mine later..."

"But the cafeteria will close soon..."

"I have my own food in my lab."

"You only had toast for breakfast!"

My tone became somewhat annoyed. "I know, Hiro. Just... don't worry about me!"

"...fine. If that's what you want..." Hiro said, looking away.

* * *

I joined in on conversation a little, but mostly waited until the gang had finished eating.

Soon everyone cleaned up their trays, and we started travelling back to our labs. Honey and Gogo had classes, so the only people left were Fred, Wasabi, Hiro and I.

We were all walking to the robotics sector of the institute when my head started spinning. My eyes started to lose their focus. I was getting off-balance, and it was noticeable.

"Woah, Mari! Are you feeling all right?" I heard Wasabi say.

"Yeah, I'm f-fine..." I blurted out.

I suddenly lost all consciousness, and fell to one side, heaving out a large breath. The fatigue must've caught up with me. No, I was not 'fine' at all.

"MARI?"

* * *

I awoke in my lab, on my bed. The entire gang was crowded around me, except for Wasabi, who was just tugging Baymax in, panting and sweating.

"She's awake..." Honey Lemon announced, though everyone knew it already.

"Mari, are you okay?" Fred and Gogo said at the same time.

I just laid there.

"Mari, say 'ow'."

I didn't want to do this, but I also didn't want to put anyone though any more trouble. "Ow." I stated.

"The vinyl robot inflated out of his red case.

"Hello, I am Baymax, your personal healthcare companion. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your pain?"

"... a 1?"

"I have detected no injuries, save for a few cuts and scrapes, which I recommend leaving open to heal. I have, however, identified high levels of fatigue."

"Fatigue?!" Hiro exclaimed, jolting his head towards Baymax.

"Precisely. I recommend a long sleep and a glass of water afterwards. You should wake up naturally, with no disturbances."

"Thanks Baymax." I said.

"Are you satisfied with your care?"

"Yes Baymax. I am satisfied with my care." I watched Baymax deflate before turning my head to look at the others. It was only then that I saw Hiro's angry face.

"Fatigue? FATIGUE? YOU MEAN YOU WERE TIRED THIS WHOLE TIME?!" Hiro's shouts echoed throughout the room.

I was taken aback. "W-Well..."

Hiro inhaled slowly, to calm himself a little.

"Why did you decide to come if you were tired?! There's no point! You wouldn't be able to focus!"

"...Why don't we all move out of this room, and she can tell us in her lab?" Honey Lemon thought aloud.

"Mari needs her sleep, Honey." Gogo stated.

"Oh..."

"Well...yeah, but I don't want to sleep just yet. Come on!" I exclaimed, hopping out of bed.

Everyone stood still for a couple of seconds, but gave in and followed me.

* * *

I sat down on the three-seater couch, Gogo and Hiro sitting beside me. Honey Lemon, Wasabi and Fred all sat on white chairs, surrounding a glass table.

"...I'm hungry..." I muttered.

"On it." Gogo said, immediately getting up and exiting the room.

"Mari, this is why you should've had lunch." Hiro said, monotonous.

I smiled timidly.

"Back." Gogo announced, bringing in a bag of food from a cafe across the road.

I looked at Gogo with surprise. "W-Wow. Thanks Gogo! How'd you get back so quickly?"

Gogo was about to speak, but Fred interrupted her. "Weeeeeellll, she's gotta go(go) fast, after all."

Gogo glared at Fred. "Fred, I barely allowed you to give me that nickname. Do NOT make a pun of it!"

"I don't regret it!"

Gogo socked Fred's arm. "How about now?"

"Heeeeey!"

Everyone else giggled. I pulled out a chocolate muffin from the bag and took a large bite out of it.

"So how's that muffin, Mari?" Hiro said, coolly.

"Ish vewy goob!" I exclaimed, mouth stuffed with muffin.

Everybody looked at me, amused expressions on their faces.

I finished the muffin in under a minute. I was glad that Gogo bought more than just a muffin, and so I managed to scoff down three pastries, seven truffles, and a slice of sponge cake.

Hiro rolled his eyes with a smile at this sight.

I threw the empty bag into a nearby trash can, and rested my back against my leather couch. I was more than ready to fall asleep at this moment.

"Mari..." A feminine voice broke the silence. "Why were you so tired today?" It sounded like Honey Lemon's.

Usually I wouldn't say a word, but right now I didn't hesitate to speak.

"I was... worried..."

"Worried?! Why?"

"I wanted to..." I sighed. "make sure Hiro was okay..."

And with that, I fell into a peaceful slumber, resting my head on Hiro's shoulder.

* * *

-Hiro's P.O.V.-

 _Wait, why would Mari be so worried about me? What could possibly-_

 _It was my injured shoulder, wasn't it?_

 _Stupid dumb shoulder._

"Oooh, Hiro's got a worrier!" Wasabi teased.

"AYYYYIIII! Look at Mari, sleeping on your shoulder! This is SO CUTE!"

A bright flash blinded me for a moment. Yep. That was definitely Honey Lemon.

"I'M SENDING THIS TO AUNT CASS!"

"You are NOT sending that to Aunt Cass!" I argued. I wanted to get up, but I couldn't wake Mari up now.

Great. I was stuck.

"Aaaand, sent." Honey announced with a smirk. I groaned.

I shot a glance at Mari's sleeping form.

 _What a cutie..._

I hardly noticed I was smiling at Mari until another white flash blinded me. Mari flinched slightly in her sleep.

"Dude, we all saw that smile." Gogo said with a raised-eyebrow smile.

"What smile?" I asked.

Honey turned her phone's screen towards me.

"Honeeeeey..." I whined.

Honey giggled in her seat. "My ship is sailing..." She mumbled under her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing..." Honey said as she chuckled.

"What is UP with you guys? Why are you all acting so wierd?"

"She's totally into you, nerd." Gogo stated, popping her grape bubblegum.

"Yes! That's sent to Aunt Cass too." Honey Lemon exclaimed joyfully. Not another one!

I was dumbfounded. "Are you serious? Why would she fall for me?"

"I can imagine you guys together! This would be great inspiration for a romantic subplot!" said Fred, the part-time author.

I groaned. Again. "Please be practical, guys!"

"Uh, we are? It's so obvious she likes you!" Wasabi commented.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."

* * *

"I'm feeling like FRUIT SALAD!" Fred yelled randomly. **(A/N: Can we all just appreciate that my fruit salad made a cameo in this fic XD)**

"Do you have a love for food and drink or something, Fred?" Gogo questioned, skeptical.

"Doesn't everyone?! That's why we should go get some!" Fred exclaimed, running to the door.

"Uh, Fred? What about Mari?" I heard Honey say.

"Oh, I forgot. You guys all stay here. I'll be back in only a few minutes. Let me go buy them, pleeeease?"

"Okay Fred. Go on." I responded.

"Awwww yeeEEEEAH!" Fred shouted, dashing out the door.

I was starting to feel sleepy too. _Maybe it was because I overworked myself again? I dunno._

I tried my best to stay awake, but my brain betrayed me.

 _A cat nap wouldn't hurt, would it?_ I thought as I drifted off to sleep.

I didn't hear Honey squeak with delight as she started intently taking photos. How was I supposed to know I had accidentally rested my head on Mari's?

* * *

-Aunt Cass' P.O.V.-

*lil short time skip ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ*

 _8:00pm. Time to close up shop!_

I hummed a new song I heard off the radio today. I really liked it. Unfortunately, Hiro and Mari weren't available to help me figure out the name of it.

 _Actually, where are those two?_

My phone started to buzz on the marble countertop. I was busy right now, so I decided to leave it for a while.

When I had finished closing the cafe, I picked up my phone up, and was about to unlock it.

That's when I noticed the array of messages blowing up my lock screen. All from Honey Lemon.

 _'52 messages'?! Why?_

I unlocked my phone, and gasped as I scrolled through picture after picture of Hiro and Mari.

"Yes!" I uttered.

Underneath all the photos, I found three messages.

Honey Lemon:

\- Aunt Cass, my ship is sailing!

\- Be ready...

\- You'll be owing me that $20 we betted on!

I smirked, and sent a message back.

\- It isn't official yet. I'm not handing over money anytime soon.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm thinking of changing the second genre (Adventure) of this fic to Drama. There's not enough adventure and there's way more drama to come, so I'm thinking of changing it. I could also change it to angst, but... I dunno ¯\\_(ツ** **)_/¯**

 **I'm actually proud of this chappie ^-^ yay...**

 **See ya next time peeps (づ￣** **³￣** **)づ**


	16. Chapter 14

**A/N: ello...**

 **Sorry that I wasn't able to update, I didn't get good access to any of my devices until now.**

 **During my time offline I managed to write this chappie and the next (long I think) chappie.**

 **Yeah…**

 **Also I JUST** **realized** **that the second genre of this fic is actually hurt/comfort... still changed it though.**

 **It's now drama, although in reality, it's a mix of romance, drama, hurt/comfort, suspense, angst, adventure (?), humour (?)... yeah. That's... that's how I like to write.**

 **OH WELL ¯\\_(** **ツ** **)_/**

 **Here be the next chapter:**

* * *

-Mari's P.O.V.-

I awoke to the calming tint of light orange lighting, flooding in through my lab's large windows. I glanced at the blue clock, mounted on a nearby wall. _4:30pm._

"She's awake."

I still felt a little sleepy, so I turned back to my former position and hugged my pillow.

 _...wait a minute. Are...are pillows meant to be this big?_

 _...WAIT A MINUTE. I DON'T HAVE PILLOWS IN MY MAIN LAB. ONLY CUSHIONS._

 _...THIS CUSHION ISN'T AS SOFT AS I EXPECTED. IT ALSO HAS SLIGHT CURVES. WHAT-_

 _...OH NO._

Well, I definitely wasn't sleepy now.

I slowly moved my head from its position, looking at the person sleeping next to me. A noticeable blush erupted on my cheeks.

"She knows..." someone stated, matter-of-fact.

I sat up straight, and looked down on Hiro's sleeping form. His lips were curled into a tiny smile, and his eyes were softly shut.

 _He's so cute when he sleeps._ I thought, hugging him close while smiling warming. Ironically, I completely forgot about everything else, including the OTHER PEOPLE existing in the room.

Some form of bright light blinded me, and I jumped. I then turned to face the source.

* * *

A phone case of a fox in a tie hid a blonde woman's face. Oh no.

 _Honey Lemon just got a keepsake of that smile, didn't she?_

Honey Lemon squealed and fell off her chair. But that doesn't matter. She's got a 'cute' picture saved onto her phone.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEESS!" Honey Lemon screamed in utter joy. Everybody else, meanwhile, had smiles that would be hard to wipe off.

"Honey! ... p-pleeeease delete that photo!" I pleaded.

"No way! I'm sending this to Aunt Cass! Best! Day! Ever!"

 _Could this day get any worse-_

Honey Lemon gasped in crazy delight. "I COULD EDIT THIS PHOTO WITH ONE OF THE OTHER PHOTOS I TOOK WHEN HIRO WAS LOOKING AT YOU!"

 _Apparently it could. In one abnormally long sentence._

Honey Lemon furiously altered the picture she snapped, and let out another squeal when she was finished.

"PERFECT!" She exclaimed, showing us all an edit of Hiro and I dreamily looking into each other's eyes.

 _If my blush wasn't intense before, it sure is now. Shoot, I must look like a tomato._

 _Wait. WAIT. HIRO WAS LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT?!_

 _Forget the tomato. My face was surely glowing like molten lava._

* * *

I hid my face in Hiro's hair out of embarrassment. I tried to stop a smile etching its way onto my lips, but THAT didn't work.

"They're both smiling!" Gogo yelled with a smirk.

Honey Lemon stayed silent, until:

"OMG IT IS SO CANON! IT'S CANON AND I WILL FIGHT ANYONE WHO DISAGREES! IT'S CANON!" she screamed, shaking Fred. "CANON I TELL YOU IT IS-"

"Okay, okay, Honey Lemon," Gogo interrupted with a chuckle, "take some time to calm down-"

"NO!"

"But if you do, that means you can think clearly again, and that means you can think of ways to set these two up." Gogo advised, smiling while pointing at us.

"...Yes! THAT'S RIGHT! Gogo, can you help me plan?!"

"HEY!" Hiro and I yelled.

Gogo shrugged. "I had to think of something to calm Honey Lemon down."

She paused. "Yes Honey, I will help you plan."

"GOGO!" Hiro and I screeched.

"Oooh! Count me in!" exclaimed Fred.

"SERIOUSLY FRED?!" Hiro yelled.

"I'll help too!" Wasabi announced.

* * *

Hiro and I stared at the gang in disbelief.

"Well, at least Aunt Cass isn't a part of this. We can safely escape from these guys anytime when we aren't in college." I noted to Hiro, optimistically.

"Actually, Aunt Cass is in on it too. She ships you guys for fun," Gogo explained coolly. "But she betted $20 to Honey Lemon that you wouldn't get together."

That disbelief probably multiplied by, I dunno, a thousand?

"YOU BET ON OUR 'LOVE' LIVES?!" I screamed, the facepalmed.

"UNBELIEVEABLE!" Hiro yelled, throwing his hands in the air.

"Sorry, but I'd just like to point something out that Mari just said." Wasabi commented, pointing a finger at me.

"You said that you can go to Aunt Cass' place anytime that isn't college time, right?"

"..Y-Yeah..." I uttered uneasily.

* * *

There was a loud knocking on my lab door.

"Come in, it's open!" I replied.

A tall girl with bleached blond hair and tanned skin pushed the door open. It was Robyn, the girl twenty doors down.

"Can you guys keep it down?! I can hear y'all right back in my lab! Keep in mind that this glass is soundproof too!" she said, flicking a pane.

"Shoot. Robyn, I am SO sorry, I guess my friends got a little carried away." I replied sheepishly.

"Make sure it doesn't happen again. I can't afford to be disturbed!"

"Um, so anyways," Wasabi started, "it sounds like you go there all the time. Almost like you live there."

"Uhhhh…." Hiro and I uttered simultaneously, turning our heads away from everyone.

"Oh. My. Gosh. ARE YOU GUYS SERIOUS?!" Gogo yelled.

"I TOLD YOU IT WAS CANON!" Honey yelled at the top of her lungs.

Robyn glared at us. "See, that volume right there needs to be turned down way lower."

"S-sorry Robyn…" Honey Lemon apologised.

"This is getting real spicy though, am I right?" Robyn finger-gunned at us with a smirk.

Disbelief meter: Overloaded.

"Seriously?! Robyn, please don't tell anyone about what you heard!" I begged.

"What d'ya mean? Y'all living together, or y'all having relationship problems?"

"Wait! You heard EVERYTHING?!" I questioned, my eyes widening.

"Yep." Robyn replied, popping the 'p'. "I bet the guy from ten doors down can hear that."

 _Okay! Forget the molten lava! I'm probably sitting here, radiating beams like Sirius B when it was still going strong!"_

"Nah, yeah. I'll keep your secret. I'm sure those others would too. They ain't rude snitches or anything."

I heaved out a breath I didn't know I was holding in. "Thanks Robyn. I owe you one."

Robyn waved as she walked out the door.

* * *

"Come on guys. You're not related, and yet you live together. You can't make me not ship that." Gogo muttered.

"She speaks the truth!" Fred announced.

I couldn't say anything.

"Okay guys," Hiro started, standing up, "be reasonable. Does it look like we're dating?"

"You will be soon." Wasabi pointed out.

Meanwhile, I have moved my body so that I was resting it fully on the couch. I closed my eyes.

"Looks like Mari saw the chance, and took it." Wasabi added.

"Mari! You stole my spot!" Hiro exclaimed.

I smirked. "This is my lab, Hiro."

* * *

Honey Lemon spoke in a warning tone. "All fangirling aside: it's getting late, Hiro. If there's nothing you need to do here, we should go home. Mari won't stay here any longer, I should think."

"Well you thought wrong." I contradicted.

"Aunt Cass will be worried if we don't arrive home soon." Hiro reminded me.

"I refuse to leave the safety of this couch."

"Then I'll just have to carry you out." Wasabi spoke, picking me up.

"H-hey! Stop it!" I yelled.

"No can do. I have to carry you."

"…fine. Just don't drop me." I murmured as the gang filed out of the lab.

"Oh, don't worry. I know I'm carrying precious cargo." Wasabi snuck a glance at Hiro.

"Hey!"

* * *

"I can't get to sleep!" I complained, now in the lounge at home.

"But sweetie, why did you bother to stay up? Hiro would've been fine." Aunt Cass explained.

"Yeah, but…" I sighed. "I just wanted to make sure he'd be okay. He has a puncture wound near his collarbone."

"Wait, what? Hiro said it was just a tiny bruise!"

"Uhhh…" Hiro scratched the back of his neck.

"Hiro, I need an explanation for this." Aunt Cass said sternly, adjusting her place on her chair.

"I…was working with s-some machinery, and I may have set the grip too loose, so the blade k-kinda broke off… and hit me?"

"Hiro, you should know to be more careful. You could've been hurt even more that you are now!"

"Sorry, Aunt Cass…" Hiro said, looking down.

"And Mari, I'll heat up a cup of milk. It's not much, but it might help."

"Thanks, Aunt Cass" I replied.

Aunt Cass got up from her place and prepared a cup of warm milk in the kitchen.

"Here." She muttered after a minute, handing me the cup.

"Hiro," she spoke, altering her stance, "I'm not sure if Baymax has told you, but you might need to check your bandage. It's possible you may need to apply a new one. Follow me."

Aunt Cass walked to the bathroom. Hiro followed, dragging his feet along, and I was left alone.

As I slowly drank the last of my milk, I could hear the slight drizzle of rain, pattering against the windows. The soft rhythm seemed to calm me more, and I could feel myself drifting off to sleep for the third time today.

 _If I wake up in the middle of the night, I'll just call Baymax to help me fall asleep._

 _Maybe I'll just stop getting into trouble in the first place. I've had enough of this criminal nonsense._

Ha. I'm Mari Nakata. It would never be possible for a girl like me.

* * *

 **A/N: HOW ABOUT THAT FOR AN EXTREMELY BELATED NEW YEAR'S PRESENT EHHH? *bad belated New Year's present is bad* ummm... at least I updated XD**

 **I'd so be a mix of Honey Lemon and Robyn if I was in this fic. I'm not joking.**

 **Also, I think angst is one of my specialty genres…just…just be prepared in case I drop something rEEEEEEEEAAAAALLL angsty.**

 **And WAIT... BTS IS GOING TO RELEASE A CONTINUATION TO WINGS. IT'S _WINGS: YOU NEVER WALK ALONE_ AND I'M SO PUMPED LIKE WHAT WILL THIS ALBUM BE LIKE :O**

 **Have a lovely day (or night, I mean… I'm posting this at night soo….) and I'll meet you in the next chapter :D**


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